ORLANDO, Fla. – 2022 does not look to disappoint skywatchers in Central Florida, weather permitting that is! There are always noteworthy things to look up for on any given night, but these are the top events worth marking in your calendar as we venture through the new year.
A lot of these events on the list below happen in the spring when there is typically optimal weather for viewing.
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Mars, Saturn Conjunction (April 4-5)
The ringed and red planets will get up close and personal in early April.
The two planets will be at their closest to one another before sunrise on April 4 and again on April 5. Saturn will be the slightly brighter of the two while Mars will have its iconic red hue. Mars and Saturn will flip positions in the night sky April 5.
You can view this with the naked eye, but binoculars or a telescope will enhance the viewing experience.
A Brighter Conjunction
A lot of people became familiar with conjunctions back in 2021 when the Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn was stealing headlines. This time around, Jupiter will hook up with the brightest planet in our sky, Venus. Conjunctions happen when two objects from our perspective get very close to each other in the night sky.
Jupiter and Venus will appear to nearly merge from our perspective. Look for this show about an hour before sunrise on the mornings of April 30 and May 1.
Five planets align in order (June 24)
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. You may remember this mnemonic from elementary school to remember the order of the planets in our solar system. Back in my day, Pluto was a planet, but that’s a story for another time.
In this case, you will only need to remember part of that saying. The five planets visible to the naked will be aligned, in order from the sun, before sunrise June 24.
Possible Naked-Eye Comet (Late April/Early May)
This will likely be the top event of 2022 if it comes to fruition. Comets are notoriously hard to forecast as they speed through space and interact with the sun. Anyway, one could grace the skies in late April or early May.
Much more will be known as it gets closer to Earth in the coming months. You will want to look up for this one as it will stay safely far away from our home.
Two Blood Moon Eclipses (May 15/16, Nov. 8)
It’s about time! We got close in this part of the world last year as two nearly-total lunar eclipses were visible from Central Florida. Just a sliver went unmasked by the earth’s shadow. This year, however, Central Florida will be treated to not only two total lunar eclipses, but long-lasting eclipses at that.
The last total lunar eclipse in Central Florida was January 2019.
The first total lunar eclipse will finally allow for viewing at night, rather than early in the morning. Totality, when the moon appears blood red, will begin at 11:29 p.m. and will last until 12:53 a.m.
The partial eclipse, when there appears to be a bite taken out of the moon, gets underway an hour earlier. The full eclipse ends at 1:55 a.m.
The second total lunar eclipse of the year happens in November before sunrise. This too will last for a long time, getting started at 4:09 a.m. and ending as the moon sets just before 7 a.m. The rest of the eclipse will happen below the horizon, not visible in Central Florida.
The next total lunar eclipse doesn’t come around until 2025 so make sure you catch a glimpse of one of them.
There are many more fascinating things happening in the night sky in 2022 that aren’t on this list, such as our annual meteor showers and other planetary conjunctions. We’ll be sure to let you know when those events are coming to a backyard near you in the year ahead.
Here’s to good weather and good viewing in 2022!