Turn Left At Orion

2027

2027 has two solar eclipses. In February, an annular eclipse will be visible from South America, but the big event is the August 2 total eclipse across northern Africa. This eclipse is part of the same saros that gave us the exceptionally long eclipses of 1973, 1991, and 2009 – and the one this year is almost as long. The maximum duration (6 minutes and 22 seconds) is the longest for any eclipse until 2114. In 2027 there are three lunar eclipses, all penumbral (with no part of the Moon moving into the Earth’s umbra, within which the Sun is totally blocked by the Earth). One of these eclipses (in July) is so minimal that it’s totally unobservable, but the other two make worthwhile observing challenges. Jupiter is visible in the evening sky for the first several months of the year and (like 2021) this is a great year for observing the four Galilean satellites, because we’re observing the planet from almost exactly in the plane of their orbits. See the Jupiter & Saturn page for more on these Galilean satellite mutual eventsevents. Mars comes to opposition a bit over a week later, but this year it’s only 14” across, making it difficult to see surface features. Saturn reaches opposition in October. This year, the rings are wider open than in 2026 (we see them from about 13° to the south). That makes Cassini’s Division easier to see. The Moon will detract from the Geminids. It will be a bit of an annoyance for the Perseids and no problem at all for the Quadrantids.

January
Follow asteroid Ceres around its opposition (mag. 6.8) on January 5th, in Gemini.
3		Venus at Greatest Morning Elongation (47°).
4	04 H	Quadrantid Meteor Shower. Peak favors North America. The crescent Moon will not interfere.
February
3		Mercury at Greatest Evening Elongation (18°).
6	16 H	Annular Solar Eclipse, visible across most of South America and annular in southern Chile & Argentina.
10		Jupiter at Opposition (mag. -2.6, in Leo), 13° from Mars. We’re almost exactly in the plane of Jupiter’s equator, so this opposition is a great opportunity to look out for mutual events of the Galilean satellites, as well as the transits of the moons and their shadows across the face of Jupiter.
19		Mars at Opposition (mag. -1.2, near Regulus in Leo, 10.5° east of Jupiter).
20	23 H	93% Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, close enough to partial that it should be visible (in Europe, Africa, & western Asia) as all but the southernmost edge of the Moon experiences a partial solar eclipse.
March
17		Mercury at Greatest Morning Elongation (28°).
May
28		Mercury at Greatest Evening Elongation (23°).
July
15		Mercury at Greatest Morning Elongation (21°).
August
2	10 H	Total Solar Eclipse, visible in Africa, Europe, and southwestern Asia. The path of totality stretches across the northern tip of Africa and southern Saudi Arabia.
13	08 H	Perseid Meteor Shower. The shower lasts for weeks, but it’s best observed from the night of the 12th thru around the 16th as the Moon slowly gets out of the way. Timing of the peak on the night of the 12th-13th favors western North America. The gibbous Moon will interfere until it sets (at around 2 AM in mid-northern latitudes).
17	07 H	55% Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. This will be challenging to detect, but observers in the Americas may see the Moon’s Southern Highlands darken a bit.
September
24		Mercury at Greatest Evening Elongation (26°).
28		Neptune at Opposition (mag. 7.8, in Pisces).
October
18		Saturn at Opposition (mag. 0.1, in Pisces).
November
4		Mercury at Greatest Morning Elongation (19°).
30		Uranus at Opposition (mag. 5.6, in Taurus). If you can get to dark skies this week, try to see it naked-eye in moonless skies.
December
14	20 H	Geminid Meteor Shower. Timing favors Asia but the Full Moon will impair viewing everywhere.

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