21 Spectacular Celestial Sights To See This Summer In North America

09.04.2024 - 11:33 / forbes.com

The “Great North American Eclipse” is history, but if it’s left you wondering when the next eclipse is, console yourself with this fact—a major meteor shower is coming, one of just 21 stunning sights to see in the night sky for the rest of 2024.

From Uranus hanging out next to Jupiter and Venus to a “Blue Moon” and bits of Halley’s comet shining brightly in the night sky, here’s what you need to know about stargazing in 2024.

Look at the western skies just after sunset and see the bright planet Jupiter and the dim planet Uranus, which are just half a degree from each other. Just below will be a comet.

Comet Pons-Brooks is a short-period comet that loops around the sun every 71 years, which should be visible in binoculars during March and April. It will be at peak brightness on April 21. You will likely need binoculars.

Look east at moonrise to see April’s full moon rising as a deep orange orb.

The debris of Halley’s comet, the Eta Aquariids, is one of just three meteor showers 2024 that will peak in dark, moonless skies.

The “Flower Moon” will appear close to the red supergiant star Antares in the constellation Scorpius.

Between May 29 and July 12, the sun will set between skyscrapers as seen from Manhattan, New York City. On May 29-30 and July 11-12, the sunset will “kiss the grid.”

The ISS will be exceptionally bright from the northern hemisphere after sunset in June, rising in the west and setting in the east.

The peak months for noctilucent or “night-shining” clouds are high in Earth’s atmosphere. Look to the north and northeastern sky late at night.

This is the best planetary conjunction of the year! Look east before sunrise on June 4 to see the giant planet Jupiter half a degree from the “Swift Planet.” Use binoculars. The crescent moon joins on June 5.

The first full moon of summer in the northern hemisphere will occur the day after June 20’s solstice. It will be the lowest-hanging full moon of the year.

If you look east before sunrise, you’ll see Mars shining brightly above Jupiter. Uranus will be to the immediate upper left of Mars.

A particularly low and late-rising full moon, July’s is also called the “Thunder Moon.”

Look south for the tail of the famous Scorpius constellation, featuring the red supergiant star Antares and the M4 globular cluster of 1,000+ stars. Nearby is Sagittarius over the galactic central point.

The year’s biggest and best display of meteors will occur overnight on August 12/13. Go camping—it’s the best way to see it.

Look east before sunrise to see Mars and Jupiter a third of a degree apart high in the sky.

A seasonal “blue moon”—the third of four full moons in one astronomical season—will shine close to Saturn.

Overhead after dark in September, the Summer Triangle