Two Blue Moons, a lunar eclipse, an August meteor shower and the return of Mars are the headliners for another full year of astronomical wonders. Get your calendars and prepare for the astronomical highlights of 2018.
January 31 (in the morning): Blue Blood Eclipse
The astronomical event in 2018 that may go viral may only happen once in a Blue Moon. On the morning of January 31, we will have a lunar eclipse. This happens when Earth comes between the Sun and Moon and casts its shadow onto the lunar surface. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon turns an eerie shade of orange and that some people call a “Blood Moon.”
Every lunar eclipse occurs on a full Moon, but what’s going to make this lunar eclipse extra special is that January 31 is the second full moon of the calendar month making it a Blue Moon. A Blue Moon doesn’t actually turn the color blue. It’s just a made-up name. Nevertheless, the combination of a “Blue Moon” and a “Blood Moon” might make the internet explode.
March 31: Blue Moon #2
If you miss the Blue Moon on January 31, there will be another one on March 31. There will be a Full Moon on March 1 and 31 this year, and that means that the month of February will have no full Moons. This rare non-occurrence hasn’t happened since 2009.
Planet Parade and Marsapalooza
What’s that bright thing next to the Moon? Chances are it’s a planet (called a conjunction). Below are the best dates to view the five naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) in 2018.
March 13-19: Best week to see Mercury right after sunset
March 18: Mercury, Venus, and Moon appear close together after sunset. Venus-viewing season opens when you can see the brightest planet until October.
May 9: Jupiter is closest to the Earth for the year and will look exceptionally bright in the southeastern sky after sunset that entire month.
June 23: Jupiter - Moon conjunction
June 27: Saturn season opens when you can see it next to the nearly Full Moon
July 15: Venus - Moon conjunction (really good one!)
July 20: Jupiter - Moon conjunction
July 24: Saturn-Moon conjunction
July 27: Marsapalooza! Mars, the Red Planet is back and will be only 35.8 million miles from Earth. This is the closest Mars has been since 2003. On the night of closest approach, July 27, Mars will also be in conjunction with the Full Moon. The pair will make a dramatic sight and kick off a month of Mars-watching I call, “Marsapalooza.”
August 16: Jupiter - Moon conjunction
August 20: Saturn - Moon conjunction
September 13: Jupiter-Moon Conjunction
September 19: Mars - Moon conjunction
October 14: Saturn - Moon conjunction
Meteors and Satellites
Meteor showers are notoriously fickle events so predicting them is not an exact science. However, on paper the Perseid Meteor shower this August could be the best shooting star show of the year. The Perseids peak on the night of August 12 and into the morning of August 13. Get out of the city and find a dark spot to view. The Moon will be out of the way so you may be able to see even the fainter shooting stars.
Finally, when you are out star gazing you may spot satellites slowly crossing the heavens. Spying these slow-moving, steady lights can make an extra bonus for your night. You can easily see the International Space Station and Iridium Satellites with the naked eye. And for a limited time you can catch Tiangong-1, the defunct Chinese space station that is unmanned and slowly spiraling to Earth. It should crash this year. You can keep up with when and where to see satellites fly overhead by getting apps like Sputnik or visiting websites like Heavens-Above.com.
Whether you Moon-gaze, star gaze or Mars-gaze, there is always lots to see when you keep looking up!
Dean Regas is the Astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory, co-host of PBS’ Star Gazers, and author of the books 100 Things to See in the Night Sky and Facts from Space! He can be reached at dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org