2023 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons And Full Moons

ACROSS AMERICA — The skies above us offer endless hours of entertainment at the cost of absolutely nothing but time. To help you plan ahead and make the most of these events, here’s Patch’s 2023 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons And Full Moons.

If you’re brave enough to get out in what could be bitterly cold weather in much of the Northern Hemisphere, the first shooting star show of the year, the Quadrantid meteor shower, carries dazzling potential. It runs Dec. 26-Jan. 16, and peaks Jan. 2-3, according to NASA.

During the narrow, six-hour peak that starts just after midnight, between 60 and 200 meteors an hour are possible. The shower is known for bright fireballs — explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak.

Also, if you’re a sucker for meteor showers, bear in mind there won’t be another one until spring.

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Below, find a rundown of meteor showers, full moons and supermoons, and other celestial events to put on your 2022 calendar. This guide is curated from NASA, The Farmers’ Almanac, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the American Meteor Society and Sea and Sky.

Peak dates for meteor showers may vary, depending on the source; this guide uses information from NASA and the American Meteor Society. Unless otherwise noted, meteor showers are best viewed between midnight and dawn, as far away from city lights as possible. If you’re planning 2023 meteor-watching excursions, check out dark-sky locations.

Shooting Stars And Fireballs

Quadrantids, Jan. 3-4: This shower runs Dec. 26-Jan. 16 and produces between 80 and 200 meteors an hour at peak. Best viewed after midnight, it is produced by dust grains left behind by an extinct comet known as 2003 EH1, discovered in 2003. The moon will be about 92 percent full during the peak — but keep in mind the Quadrantids are known for producing fireballs bright enough to be seen in the moonlight.

Lyrids, April 21-22: This show runs from April 16-25 every year. Viewing conditions should be favorable for the peak, with the moon only about 6 percent illuminated. The Lyrids produce about 18 meteors an hour at the peak. The Lyrids are known to produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The Lyrids are produced by dust particles left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.

Eta Aquariids, May 4-5: This above-average meteor shower runs from April 15-May 27. The best place to see it is in the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it’s a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times. The moon will be about 9 percent full.

Southern Delta Aquariids, July 29-31: This shower runs from July 18-Aug. 21 and produces about 20 meteors an hour at the peak. The moon will be about 95 percent full for this shower, which is produced by debris left behind by the comets Marsden and Kracht.

Alpha Capricornids, July 30-31: This shower is active from July 7-Aug. 13, with a “plateau-like” maximum at the peak. It isn’t a particularly strong shower and rarely produces more than five shooting stars an hour, but what is notable is the number of bright fireballs produced during the peak. The moon will be about 95 percent full at the peak, so the show could be a washout.

Perseids, Aug. 12-13: Famous for producing a large number of fireballs, the Perseids meteor shower is regarded as one of the best of the year. The shower runs July 14-Sept. 1 and produces up to 100 shooting stars an hour at the peak. The shower, discovered in 1862, is produced by the comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle. 2023 could be a good year to plan something around the peak; the moon will be about 10 percent full, so it shouldn’t interfere much with the sky show.

Draconids, Oct. 8-9: This short meteor shower running from Oct. 6-10, sometimes called the Giacobinid meteor shower in honor of the astronomer who discovered the comet that produces it, passes almost without notice most years with only a smattering of meteors. However, Draconid meteor storms can bring hundreds of shooting stars a minute in some years. Notable reports were filed in Europe in 1933, when 500 shooting stars a minute were observed, and in the United States in 1946, when 50 to 100 meteors an hour were reported. This shower differs from others in that it peaks in the early evening. The moon will be about 33 percent illuminated during the peak.

Orionids, Oct. 21-22: The Orionid meteor shower, which runs Sept. 26-Nov. 22, produces about 15 or 20 meteors an hour but is considered one of the most beautiful shooting star shows of the year. The meteors are both bright and fast, entering Earth’s atmosphere at about 148,000 miles per hour. Meteors that fast can leave glowing trains — that is, incandescent bits of debris that can last several seconds or even minutes — and also fireballs. The moon will be about 37 percent full during the peak.

Taurids, Nov. 4-5 and Nov. 11-12: What makes this long-running meteor shower unique is that it consists of two separate streams — the first created by grain dust left behind by Asteroid 2004/TG10, and the second by dust grains left behind by Comet 2P/Encke. Together, they run from about Sept. 28-Dec 2. Both streams are rich in fireballs, and are often responsible for increased numbers of fireball reports, according to the American Meteor Shower. The moon will be about 54 percent full for the Southern Taurids’ Nov. 4-5 peak, and about 2 percent full for the Nov. 11-12 peak of the Northern Taurids.

Leonids, Nov. 17-18: The Leonids meteor shower runs Nov. 3-Dec. 2 and puts on an average show of about 15 meteors an hour — except during cyclonic peaks that occur about every 33 years, when hundreds of meteors an hour can be seen. It happened last in 2001, putting us years away from a similar show from this shower created by dust grains left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, discovered in 1865. The moon will be about 23 percent full during the peak.

Geminids, Dec. 13-14: Meteor experts say the Geminid meteor shower is hands-down the best in the heavens, producing 120 multicolored meteors at the peak. Produced by debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, discovered in 1982, it runs from Nov. 19-Dec. 24. The moon will be about 3 percent full at the peak, making for ideal viewing conditions.

Ursids, Dec.21-22: This minor meteor shower runs Dec. 13-24 and offers about five or 10 shooting stars an hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 8P/Tuttle, discovered in 1790. The moon will be about 10 percent full for the final meteor shower of 2023.

Equinoxes And Solstices

Spring equinox, March 20: Spring officially begins as the vernal equinox occurs at 5:24 p.m. EDT, when the sun shines directly on the equator and the hours of sunlight and nighttime are nearly equal throughout the world.

Summer solstice, June 21: Summer officially begins at 10:58 a.m. EDT. During the solstice, the Earth arrives at the point in its orbit where its North Pole is at its maximum tilt — about 23.5 degrees — resulting in the longest day — that is, hours of sunlight — and shortest night of the year.

Fall equinox, Sept. 23: The fall or autumnal equinox heralds the arrival of fall at 2:49 a.m. EDT, the moment the sun shines over the equator and the hours of daylight and nighttime are again nearly equal throughout the world.

Winter solstice, Dec. 21: Winter officially arrives at 10:27 p.m. EST, the moment the Earth’s South Pole reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun. This is known as the “shortest day” and “longest night” of the year.

Full Moons And Supermoons

Moon shadow chasers, 2023 is your year with four consecutive summer supermoons, two of them in the same month, a phenomenon known as a monthly blue moon.

If skies are clear, the moon should be exceptionally bright on and around the evenings of July 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 31 and Sept. 29.

The term supermoon didn’t come from astronomy. Rather, astrologer Richard Nolle coined the term in 1979, defining a supermoon as a new or full moon that occurs when it is at its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit, making it appear bigger and brighter.

“Interestingly, nobody paid much attention to Nolle's definition until March 19, 2011, when the full moon arrived at an exceptionally close perigee, coming within 126 miles (203 kilometers) of its closest possible approach to Earth,” Joe Rao wrote for Space.com.

Until Nolle “branded” the supermoon, astronomers called the full moon that coincided with perigee as a “perigean full moon,” and it passed without notice.

“Now,” Rao continued, “it seems that every time a full moon coincides with perigee, it is referred to as a supermoon.”

Early indigenous populations named the moons to track the seasons. Below are all the full moons of 2023, including supermoons, and the names given to them by Native Americans:

Jan. 6: Wolf moon
Feb. 5: Snow moon
March 7: Worm moon
April 6: Pink moon
May 5: Flower moon
June 3: Strawberry moon
July 3: Buck moon (supermoon)
Aug. 1: Sturgeon moon (supermoon)
Aug. 31: Blue moon (supermoon)
Sept. 29: Harvest moon (supermoon)
Oct. 28: Hunter’s moon
Nov. 27: Beaver moon
Dec. 26: Cold moon

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