By: Mila Hart

There are a lot of celestial events in store for us in 2022. Here is a list of the most noteworthy astronomical events that we will be able to see with our own eyes this year.

Starting in mid-February, and going till mid-March, Venus will be at its brightest. If you would like to brave the cold, you could see it a few hours before sunrise in the low southeast sky. It will be the brightest on February 13th.

On March 14th you can expect to see some shooting stars in the Y-Normid Meteor Shower. The only meteor shower in March with up to six meteors per hour.

You can expect another meteor shower on April 22nd called the Lyrid Meteor Shower. Make sure to go somewhere dark, with no light pollution, so that you can see up to eighteen meteors per hour.

On May 1st there will be a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. Look up at the night sky to see the two brightest planets become a “double star” with Venus passing within 0°14’ of Jupiter. They will be visible in the east at dawn.

Another exciting meteor shower will take place on May 6th called the Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower. You will be able to see bright shooting stars from Halley’s Comet. Expect up to 40 meteors per hour.

On May 16th there will be a total lunar eclipse. This eclipse will be visible from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and French Polynesia.

On June 14th there will be something called the Super Strawberry Moon. This is the first super moon of the year and the moon will appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.

The second super moon of the year will take place on July 13th. It is called the Buck Moon/Thunder Moon. This is the closest the moon will get to earth in 2022.

You can expect to see up to 25 meteors per hour on July 29-30 during the Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower. The best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.

On August 12-13 I highly recommend leaving the city to see one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks at up to 150 meteors per hour under dark skies. Also, on August 12th, you can see the last super moon of the year called the Sturgeon Moon.

The last noteworthy celestial event of 2022 ends with an exciting show. On November 8th there will be a total eclipse of the moon. This eclipse will mainly be seen from the western half of North America, the Hawaiian Islands, eastern Asia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and the eastern half of Australia. The total eclipse will last around one hour and twenty-five minutes.