Best Days to Stargaze in 2017

The best days to go out and stargaze during these next couple of months.

Jayme Bailey

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On March 8-9, there will be a total eclipse of the sun in parts of the southern hemisphere. This will be visible all night long, and is also be the best time to photograph Jupiter, which will be on the opposite side of Earth. Jupiter can be seen in detail with binoculars or a medium-sized telescope.

On March 9, there will be a new moon. This will be a good time to observe tiny galaxies and star clusters.

The next month after that, there will be a full moon on April 22.

“I have always liked full moon because it just makes the sky really illuminated and cool,” sophomore Donovan Redd said.

Also, the Lyrids Meteor Shower will be occurring on April 22. This shower is supposed to have 20 meteors per hour.

“I really enjoy meteor showers, and I always go out and watch them,” junior Bart Krumpos said. “I actually have been waiting to see the Lyrids shower all year.”

On May 6 there will be another new moon, and the moon will not be visible in the night sky. Again, this be a good night to see clusters of stars and small, close-by galaxies.

Also happening on May 6 will be the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. There will be about 60 meteors per hour with a duration of about seven hours.