We asked NASA astronomer Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller when we should be looking up next year.
Everybody can pull upan astronomy calendarand see what ’s up ( celestially ) in 2024 . Not everybody , though , is a NASA scientist who is able to filtrate through all the stargazing events and plunk out the best ace to witness .
I might not be a NASA uranologist myself , but Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller sure is , and in a recent interview with Thrillist , she shared her top picks of astronomic events happen in 2024 — you know , so that you could by rights mark your calendar and make your stargazing travel program .
If you ask Dr. Thaller , she ’ll assure you that thetotal solar eclipse — which is , rightfully so , getting a lot of bombilation right now — is the master star of the 2024 show , and you perfectly should n’t miss it for the humanity . Regardless of whether you ’ve seen it before or not , you should be planning to be in the itinerary of totality onApril 8 , 2024 , because as Dr. Thaller puts it , " they ’re all dissimilar , and they all have a different personality . " This upcoming total solar occultation will be Dr. Thaller ’s sixth one to witness , and she ca n’t recommend it enough .
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" [ Total solar eclipses ] are something that I candidly , frankly have to recommend that everybody tries to get to once in their animation , because they are weirdly spectacular , " she told Thrillist . " It ’s far more profound than people know . It gives you goosebumps , your instinct kind of pick up and think , ' Well , what ’s happen ? ' because it ’s getting dark in the middle of the day . "
And the visuals are beautiful . Imagine a 360 - degree sundown — that ’s the kind of sky you see during a full solar occultation , which , for many hoi polloi , is almost a phantasmal experience . " Intellectually , you recognize that this is nothing to worry about , " Dr. Thaller enounce . " And so it makes you smile , it makes you shout . It ’s astonishingly more than just , ' Hey , this guy wire fail dark . ' "
While the sun will steal the show in 2024 with its main event , Dr. Thaller wants you to remember themoonas well . bury about penumbral lunar eclipses , though — those are n’t reallythatexciting , and as Dr. Thaller level out , most people do n’t even realise they ’re happening , since the moon does n’t pass through the darkest part of the shadow cast by the Earth .
But total lunar eclipse — that ’s something else . " The thing that you really want to see is a total lunar eclipse , when [ the Sun Myung Moon ] is in the dingy part of the Earth ’s vestige , " Dr. Thaller explained . " They ’re decidedly deserving conk out to see . Occasionally , if one is visible in the United States , I just place my alarm clock and then I get up in the middle of the night and see if it ’s clear that I can go out . " It ’s a gorgeous sight : the moonshine turn a beautiful , deep rosy red , which , in Dr. Thaller ’s eyes , is really endearing .
What ’s really coolheaded about entire lunar eclipses is that they ’re not that rare , and they happen with some form of regularity . While the next one visible from the US is n’t untilMarch 14 , 2025 , there will be some partial lunar occultation in 2024 that are still worth looking out for . " During what they call a partial lunar occultation , [ the lunation ] will pass partially through the dark part of the shadower , but it wo n’t obturate out the whole moon , " Dr. Thaller explained . " Though , you ’ll see a sort of a dark phantasm on the moonlight . That ’s coolheaded . That ’s always keen . "
If you ’re await for something that encounter more frequently , instead , meteor shower — especially the big and famous ones — are probably for you . And look at the bright side — you do n’t really have to be anywhere specific to witness them and make a few compliments . " As long as you have a dark sky and have a pretty percipient view of the sky , they happen all over the world , " Dr. Thaller pointed out . " They ’re not better in any particular part of the world , but the sinister sky you have , the more meteor you ’ll see , and the more spectacular it will be . "
In January 2024 , theQuadrantidsare come up as the first meteor shower of the yr top out aroundJanuary 3 and 4according to the International Meteor Organization , and you should also be on the lookout for the most iconic and famous ones , include theAquariids in early May(May 5 and 6 ) , thePerseidsin mid - August(August 12 and 13 ) , and theGeminids in mid - December(December 13 and 14 ) .
All the impatient space enthusiasts like myself , though , will be pleased to know that , as a treat , Dr. Thaller pointed out one really cool event that ’s happening at the end of this twelvemonth . On December 11 , Betelgeuse — a big bright red asterisk that is really the bright wizard in the configuration of Orion — is going to disappear for a spot , courtesy of an asteroid travel in our own solar system . " This asteroid is just mind its own business going around the sun , " Dr. Thaller explained . " But its sphere is going to in reality plow up Betelgeuse . And so for a couple of minutes Betelgeuse will actually vanish from the sky . " The only part of the United States that will be able to witness the phenomenon , though , is Florida . If you ’re in southern Europe , instead , you ’re lucky — most of it will have a golden tag to the upshot .
At the end of the day , though , if you really call for Dr. Thaller , she ’ll recount you that yes , stargazing outcome are cool , but they do n’t necessarily make or smash your stargazing experience . The best piece of advice she has for you is to go out of doors and just look at the virtuoso . " Sitting underneath the stars on a really grim night , I intend , is a profound experience , " she say . " It ’s something that just makes me sense full of awe , it kind of calms me down . The attempt that anybody could make is to find a terrific , exculpated , dark place . There ’s so much up there in the sky that is n’t necessarily changing or based on an outcome . "
Dr. Thaller will also tell you that headliner are where everything begins and terminate . It ’s where actual speck of the element we know are created , so look at a configuration like Orion , you get to see newborn virtuoso as well as perish stars , like Betelgeuse . " You go out and look at Orion and you see birth and destruction and where you come from and where we ’re lead , " she tell . " The death of the solar system , the nascency of the solar organization , the foundation of the elements of life — you see them all in that one configuration . "
And the next time you ’re stargazing , whether it ’s for a celestial event or not , Dr. Thaller will tell you that you should think about all this . You should mean about this profoundly . " Just go out and bet at the star and retrieve about your connection to them , " she say . " We ’re the close province of stars . Astronomy is n’t just about stuff that is so far forth or so large you ca n’t comprehend it — it ’s about where your breakfast come from . "
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are allthe best stargazing eventsthat you may get out and see this month or you could stay in andstream the northerly lightsfrom home . If you ’re just getting commence , curb out ourguide to astronomy for beginnersoreasy stargazing road trip from large US cities .
