Look forward to these celestial events this year, including an eclipse

Mark your calendars, as comets, meteor showers, and even an eclipse promise to make 2023 an A-plus year for astronomical events.

With a bounty of opportunities to gaze at the stars and watch in wonder, we caught up with a local astronomer to get a breakdown of the must see happenings.

July 13 – Moon will court The Seven Sisters

In the morning of July 13, the moon will be in the Pleiades. The Pleiades star cluster is better known as The Seven Sisters in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. The Pleiades is one of the brightest star clusters in the sky and promises to delight when the moon sweeps past. This will be visible through a telescope or binoculars, as well as with the naked eye.

Aug. 24 – Lunar occultation of Antares

An occultation is when one object moves in front of another. On Aug. 24, a lunar occultation will be visible, when the moon moves across the star Antares, which is the heart of the scorpion in the constellation Scorpio.

This will take place in the late evening, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the southern sky.

Meteor Showers

Three major meteor showers will take place in 2023, and not a single one will be interfered with by the moon, a rarity and joy to observers.

These showers are best viewed between midnight and the early morning hours, but that doesn’t mean you can’t catch a few rocks outside these times.

Aug. 12 and 13

Onlookers in the Northern Hemisphere will be treated to a spectacular show in August when the much-loved Perseid meteor shower occurs. It will peak around Aug. 12 and 13, O’Hare said. The event will be chock-full of slinging meteors, with up to 100 per hour.

“You’ll be able to just lay on the grass and have a great look at the meteor shower,” she said.

The balls will start hurling through the night sky on July 14 and wrap on Sept. 1.

Oct. 21 and 22

Clear skies should bring another wonderful show in the fall with the Orionids meteor shower. This shower is fuelled by chunks of Halley’s Comet burning through the atmosphere. The show will peak on Oct. 21 and 22 this year. The meteors will appear to come from the constellation Orion, hence the name, in the east-southeast.

Dec. 13 to 14

To wrap up the year, December will bring The Geminids. The often bright, and colourful meteors will start flying through in mid-November and wrap near Christmas. Like the other showers, the moon won’t play spoiler, making the dazzling display that much more enticing.

Oct. 14 - Annular Solar Eclipse

Commonly known as a ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse, an annular event will take place on Oct. 14. This will see the moon pass in front of the sun, providing an earie aura around the moon.

While only about 80 per cent of the sun will be covered in Kelowna, it still promises to be a – if not the – celestial highlight of the year.

O’Hare said the Okanagan branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will have a public viewing event, with special eclipse glasses at the ready so everyone can enjoy.

“The partial solar eclipse is going to be wonderful because the public is in awe of eclipses. And they are great, she said. “A lot of things in astronomy don’t move, but here we can watch the moon move across the sun.”

And with sun activity nearing it’s 11-year cycle peak, O’Hare also anticipates a bounty of stunning aroura throughout 2023.