The Amazing Sky 2019 Photography by Alan Dyer / 2019 AmazingSky.com
On the evening of January 20 North America sees a total eclipse of the Moon, when the Moon will appear coppery red, as it did here on January 31, 2018. COVER IMAGE: A magical night in July 2018 allowed me to capture a panorama of the Milky Way over Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 30 1 2 3 4 5 New Horizons flyby of 2014 MU69 Waxing crescent Moon near Venus (dawn) Saturn in conjunction behind the Sun Chandrayaan Indian lunar orbiter launches Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tonight Earth at Perihelion 7 8 9 10 12 6 New Moon Partial Solar Eclipse (Russia and North Pacific) Venus at greatest elonga 180th Anniversary of publication of first stellar parallax measurement Waxing crescent Moon near Mars (dusk) 13 14 15 17 18 19 First Quarter Moon Waxing Moon near Aldebaran (evening) 90th Anniv. Hubble's paper expanding universe 20 22 24 25 26 Total Lunar Eclipse (evening) Full Moon near Beehive star cluster Venus and Jupiter 2.5 apart (dawn) 27 28 30 31 2 Last Quarter Moon Waning crescent Moon near Jupiter (dawn)!! Waning crescent Moon 0.5 from Venus (dawn) December 2018 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 February 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 January 2019
On winter nights the Dog Stars Sirius and Procyon, at left, and the stars of Orion, at centre, shine brightly enough in the evening sky they are suitable subjects for nightscape exposures even from within the city, as here in downtown Calgary, in an image from January 2018.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 New Moon 5 Chinese New Year 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 15 Waxing crescent Moon near Mars (evening) Moon 1 above Uranus (evening) First Quarter Moon Waxing gibbous Moon near Aldebaran in Hyades (evening) Happy 450th Birthday, Galileo Galilei! 18!! Venus 1 above Saturn (dawn) 19 Full Moon (Largest of 2019 - Yes, a "supermoon!") 21 22 Zodiacal Light visible in western evening sky next 2 weeks 24 26 27 1 2 50th Anniversary of Mariner 6 launch to Mars Last Quarter Moon Mercury at greatest elongation (best evening appearance for 2019) Waning crescent Moon near Jupiter (dawn) January 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 March 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 February 2019
March is often peak season for the Northern Lights. I captured this display along the Norwegian coast in March 2018 on the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordnorge. Few places on Earth can match Norway for scenic spectacle on Earth and in the sky.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday February 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 April 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 26 27 1 Waning crescent Moon near Saturn (dawn) 2 Waning crescent Moon near Venus (dawn) 3 4 5 7 40th Anniversary Voyager 1 flyby of Jupiter 6 New Moon Thin waxing crescent Moon 9 south of Mercury (low in dusk) 10 11 12 13 14 Pi Day! 15 16 Daylight Saving Time begins (North America) Waxing crescent Moon near Mars (evening) Waxing crescent Moon near Hyades (evening) First Quarter Moon Watch for Northern Lights (often best around the Equinoxes) 17 20 23 Vernal Equinox at 3:58 pm MDT Full Moon (North American longitudes) Zodiacal Light visible in west at dusk (next 2 weeks) 24 25 27 28 29 30 50th Anniversary of Mariner 7 launch to Mars Waning Moon near Jupiter (dawn) Last Quarter Moon Waning Moon near Saturn (dawn)!! Mars 3 below Pleiades (evening) 31 1 March 2019
On spring nights, the glow of Earthshine is often obvious on the dark side of the waxing crescent Moon. This was the scene in April 2018 when the Moon appeared near Venus in the evening sky. This year Venus shines low in the morning sky in spring. It doesn t enter the evening sky until late 2019.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 6 Thin waning crescent Moon near Venus (low in dawn) First Crewed Dragon SpaceX capsule to ISS this month? 3 5 New Moon 8!! Waxing crescent Moon near Mars and Hyades (evening) 9 10 Jupiter begins retrograde motion 11 Mercury at greatest elongation (dawn) below Venus 12 First Quarter Moon Yuri's Night World Space Party 13 14 15 16 17 19 Good Friday Full Moon 20 First Full Day of Passover 21 Easter 22 Lyrid meteor shower peaks 23!! Waning gibbous Moon 1/2 from Jupiter (dawn) Waning gibbous Moon 25 near Saturn (dawn) 26 Last Quarter Moon 27 28 29 30 1 3 4 Saturn begins retrograde motion March 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 May 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 April 2019
On a spring night in 2018, the northern stars circle around the celestial pole and Polaris above an abandoned one-room school house on the Alberta prairie near Majorville, while a display of aurora dances along the northern horizon.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 28 29 30 2 3 Waning crescent Moon below Venus (low in dawn sky) Jupiter in front of "Dark Horse" in Milky Way this week 4 New Moon 5 6 7 10 Ramadan begins Thin waxing crescent Moon near Mars (dusk) Waxing crescent Moon near M44 Beehive (evening) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 First Quarter Moon Full Moon (A "Blue Moon" by one definition) 20 21 22 24 25 Waning Moon near Jupiter (rising late on 19th, best on 20th) Victoria Day Waning gibbous Moon near Saturn (pre-dawn) 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 Last Quarter Moon US Memorial Day April 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 June 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 May 2019
June brings noctilucent cloud season to the Canadian prairies when these waving bands of glowing clouds can be seen along the northern horizon during the short solstice nights. They are unusual water vapour clouds at the edge of space lit by the Sun all night long in summer. This display was from July 2018.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday May 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 July 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 28 29 30 31 1 Good weekend to shoot the Milky Way arch across the evening sky 4 5 7 8 3 New Moon Thin crescent Moon above Mars (low in dusk sky) 10 11 12 13 14 15 First Quarter Moon Jupiter at opposition (closest and brightest for 2019) 16 17 18 20 21 22 Moon near Jupiter (rising at sunset)!! Mercury and Mars 1/2 apart (low in dusk sky) Full Moon 10th Anniversary of LRO/LCROSS Moon missions launch Full Moon near Saturn Summer solstice at 9:54 am MDT 23 25 26 27 28 29 Mercury at greatest elongation (evening) Last Quarter Moon 30 2 June 2019 Thin waning crescent Moon in Hyades (very low at dawn) Asteroid Day!
July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing in 1969. Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the lunar module, landed on the Sea of Tranquility, the darkest basin at right here, in a view that is close to the phase the Moon will have on July 20/21, 2019 as it rises late at night.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 30 1 Canada Day Total Solar Eclipse!! (South Pacific, South America) New Moon Thin crescent Moon near Mercury and Mars (very low in dusk sky) US Independance Day Earth at aphelion - Farthest from the Sun First Crewed Boeing Starliner to ISS this summer? 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mercury and Mars 4 apart (very low in dusk sky) 8 40th Anniversary Voyager 2 flyby of Jupiter 9 Saturn at opposition (closest and brightest for 2019) First Quarter Moon 11 40th Anniversary of Skylab re-entry 13 Waxing gibbous Moon near Jupiter (evening) 15 16 17 18 20 Waxing gibbous Moon near Saturn (rising at sunset) Partial Lunar Eclipse (Africa and Asia) Full Moon 25th Anniversary of Comet SL9 impacts on Jupiter this week 50th (!!) Anniversary of First Moon Landing, Apollo 11 22 23 24 25 26 Last Quarter Moon Prime Milky Way viewing (next two weeks) 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 50th Anniversary of Mariner 6 fly-by of Mars June 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 August 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 July 2019
The summer and autumn Milky Way is peppered with glowing nebulas like this one, called IC 1396 in Cepheus, a region of star formation in the Perseus spiral arm. This is a stack of 9 exposures to reduce noise, with a small 300mm-focal length f/4 astrographic refractor from home on September 4, 2018.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 28 29 30 1 New Moon Good week to shoot the Milky Way Star Party Weekend! 2 4 6 7 9 10 50th Anniversary of Mariner 7 fly-by of Mars 5 Civic Holiday First Quarter Moon Waxing gibbous Moon near Jupiter (evening) Mercury at greatest elongation (morning) 11 12 13 14 15 Full Moon 16 Waxing gibbous Moon near Saturn (evening) Jupiter stops retrograde motion Perseid meteor shower peaks (gibbous Moon sets at 4 am) 19 20 22 23 24 Prime Milky Way viewing (next two weeks) Last Quarter Moon Waning crescent Moon near Aldebaran and Hyades (pre-dawn) 25 30th Anniversary of Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune 26 28!! Thin waning Moon in M44 Beehive (dawn) 29 Star Party Weekend! 30 New Moon July 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 August 2019
In summer and early autumn the core of the Milky Way Galaxy shines to the south, as a photogenic backdrop to an earthly foreground. This field of wildflowers was in Waterton Lakes National Park, in a scene from July 2018. Mars is the bright object at left. It was bright in 2018 but not in 2019!
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 40th Anniversary Pioneer 11 fly-by of Saturn 160th Anniversary of Carrington Solar Storm 2 Labour Day Mars in conjunction with (behind) the Sun 3 5 Waxing quarter Moon near Jupiter (evening) 6 First Quarter Moon 7 Waxing gibbous Moon near Saturn (evening) 9 10 Neptune at opposition (brightest for 2019) 12 Mercury & Venus 1/2 apart in day sky but 8 from Sun! 14 Full Moon (Smallest of 2019 and the Harvest Moon) 15 16 17 18 19 21 Waning Moon near Aldebaran and Hyades (best pre-dawn on 20th) Prime Milky Way viewing (next two weeks) 22 23 26 Last Quarter Moon Autumnal Equinox (1:50 am MDT) Watch for auroras and appearances of STEVE! Zodiacal Light visible in east at dawn (next 2 weeks) 28 New Moon Prime weekend for dark and deep sky photography! 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 10th Anniversary of first Clown in Space - Canadian Guy Laliberté August 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 October 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 2019
Autumn brings the Harvest and Hunter s Moons, and rustic rural scenes like this decaying grain elevator at Dorothy. Alberta. Here, Mars shines beside the Full Moon, with the Moon embedded in iridescent clouds and casting crepuscular moonbeams down to the Red Deer River valley.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 29 30 1 3 5 Waxing crescent Moon near Jupiter (evening) First Quarter Moon Waxing crescent Moon near Saturn (evening) 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Draconid meteor shower peaks 13 14 15 16 17 19 Full Moon (Hunter's Moon) Canadian Thanksgiving Mercury at greatest elongation below Venus (very low in dusk sky) 20 21 23 25 26 Last Quarter Moon Good weekend for dark and deep-sky photography Zodiacal Light visible in east at dawn (next 2 weeks) 27 28 New Moon Uranus at opposition (brightest for 2019) 29 Thin waxing crescent Moon near Mercury and Venus (low in dusk sky) 31 Waxing crescent Moon near Jupiter (evening) 1 2 September 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 November 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 October 2019
On November 11, all of North America can witness a rare transit of Mercury across the disk of the Sun, the last such event until November 13, 2032. Here, in an image of the last transit of Mercury on May 9, 2016, the tiny planet appears as a dot below the centre of the Sun s disk.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 27 28 29 30 1 2 Waxing crescent Moon near Saturn (evening) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Daylight Saving Time ends (North America) First Quarter Moon 11 13 14 15 16!! Rare Transit of Mercury (in progress at sunrise for western North America) 12 Full Moon 17 Leonid meteor shower peaks 18 Waning Moon near M44 cluster (dawn) 19 Last Quarter Moon 21 23!! Venus & Jupiter 1.5 apart (low in dusk sky) 24 Thin waning crescent Moon near Mars and Mercury (dawn) 26 New Moon 28 Thin waxing crescent Moon near Venus (evening) Mercury at greatest elongation (dawn) 29 Waxing crescent Moon near Saturn (evening) US Thanksgiving (Nov 28) October 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 December 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 November 2019
Venus returns as an evening star this winter, for a fine show through the winter of 2019 and into the spring of 2020. The view is even better when the waxing Moon passes nearby as it did here on July 15, 2018, in a scene overlooking the Bow River in Banff National Park.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 First Quarter Moon 8 10 Venus 2 from Saturn (evening) 11 12 Full Moon 14 Geminid meteor shower peaks (nearly Full Moon) 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Last Quarter Moon Winter solstice (9:19 pm MST) 22 23 25 27 28 Hanukkah begins at sunset Waning crescent Moon below Mars (dawn) Christmas Day 26 New Moon Annular Solar Eclipse (Asia and Pacific) Jupiter in conjunction with (behind) the Sun!! Waxing crescent Moon near Venus (evening) 29 30 31 1 2 3 New Year's Eve November 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 January 2020 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 December 2019