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Astronomy Events 2023

May 2/3: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the second pair of cubesats for NASA's TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission. The launch is scheduled for between 9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT (0100-0300 GMT on May 3) from Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

May 4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink satellites. The launch is scheduled for 3:29 a.m. EDT (0729 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

May 5: The full moon of May, known as the Flower Moon, will arrive at 1:34 p.m. EDT (1834 GMT).

May 5: A penumbral lunar eclipse will occur today! Some parts of the lunar eclipse should be visible in South/East Europe, Much of Asia, Australia, Africa, Pacific, Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and Antarctica.

Related: Lunar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them

May 5: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Apr. 15 and May 27 each year. 

May 10: A Chinese Long March 2F rocket will launch the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft to deliver three Chinese astronauts to the Chinese space station. This will be China's 11th crewed space mission and the fifth to the Chinese space station. 

May 15: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the third pair of cubesats for NASA's TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission from Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

May 17: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft on Axiom Mission 2 to the International Space Station. The commercial mission will include former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in command, and John Shoffner (a racecar driver and airshow pilot), who paid for his seat as the pilot. They will be joined by two Saudi astronauts, Arabia, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Axiom 2 will launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. You can watch the launch live here on Space.com, details on how will be released closer to the time. The launch is scheduled for 7:34 p.m. EDT (2334 GMT.) 

May 19: The new moon will arrive at 11:53 a.m. EDT (1653 GMT).

May 21/22: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Badr 8 communications satellite for Arabsat, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch is scheduled for 11:20 p.m. EDT (0320 GMT on May 22).

May 24: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the 84th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Also scheduled to launch in May (from Spaceflight Now): 


June 1: A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

June 3: The full moon of June, known as the Strawberry Moon, will arrive at 11:42 p.m. EDT (0442 GMT on June 4).

June 4: Venus reaches its greatest elongation — its greatest angular distance — 45 degrees to the east of the sun. 

June 18: The new moon will arrive at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0537 GMT).

June 21: Today marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice for the Southern Hemisphere. 

June 23: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 52 mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Also scheduled to launch in June (from Spaceflight Now): 

JULY

July 3: The full moon of July, known as the Buck Moon, will arrive at 7:39 a.m. EDT (1239 GMT).

July 17: The new moon will arrive at 2:32 p.m. EDT (1932 GMT). 3rd Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Euclid mission for the European Space Agency (ESA). Euclid aims to learn more about the parts of the universe we can't see — specifically, dark energy and dark matter.

July 21: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed flight. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Mike Fincke, along with an unidentified third crew member, will fly on the mission. The Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. 

Also scheduled to launch in July (from Spaceflight Now): 

AUGUST

Aug. 1: The full moon of August, known as the Sturgeon Moon, will arrive at 2:32 p.m. EDT (1932 GMT). 

Aug. 11: The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight! The prolific shower is active from mid-July until late August. 

Aug. 16: The new moon will arrive at 5:38 a.m. EDT (1038 GMT).

Aug. 17: A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program's 12th crewed flight. 

Aug. 24: The moon will pass in front of one of the brightest and most colorful stars in the sky, Antares.

Aug. 30: The second full moon in August is known as the Blue Moon as it's the second full moon in a calendar moon. It will arrive at 9:36 p.m. EDT (0236 GMT Aug 31). 

Also scheduled to launch in August (from Spaceflight Now): 

SEPTEMBER

Sept 14: The new moon will arrive at 9:40 p.m. EDT (0240 GMT on Sept. 15).

Sept. 29: The full moon of September, known as the Harvest Moon, will occur at 5:58 a.m. EDT (1058 GMT).

OCTOBER

Oct: 5: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA's Psyche asteroid mission. The spacecraft will travel to the asteroid Psyche and enter orbit in 2029. The launch is scheduled for 10:38 a.m. EDT (1438 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10.

Oct. 14: The new moon will arrive at 1:55 p.m. EDT (1855 GMT).

Oct. 14: An annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central and South America today! 

Related: Solar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them

Oct. 20: The Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Sept. 26 and Nov. 22. 

Oct. 28: The full moon of October, known as the Hunter's Moon, will occur at 4:24 p.m. EDT (2124 GMT).

Oct. 28: A partial lunar eclipse will occur today! Some parts of the partial lunar eclipse should be visible over Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, North/East South America, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Arctic and Antarctica.

Related: Lunar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them

NOVEMBER

Nov. 4: The Southern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Sept. 28 and Dec. 2. 

Nov. 9: At 5 a.m. local time, make sure to look toward the east-northeast sky to see the most spectacular pairing of the moon and Venus of 2023. 

Nov. 11: The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Oct. 13 and Dec. 2. 

Nov. 13: The new moon will arrive at 4:27 a.m. EST (0927 GMT).

Nov. 17: The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2.

Nov. 27: The full moon of November, known as the Beaver Moon, will arrive at 4:16 a.m. EST (0916 GMT)

DECEMBER

Dec. 12: The new moon will arrive at 6:32 p.m. EST (2332 GMT).

Dec. 14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Dec. 4 and Dec. 17.

Dec 21: Today is the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice for the Southern Hemisphere.

Dec: 21: The Ursid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active from Dec. 13 to Dec. 24.

Dec. 26: The full moon of December, known as the Cold Moon, will occur at 7:33 p.m. EST (0033 GMT on Dec. 27).