Planetarium
Book a group planetarium star show and/or laser light show by contacting the planetarium director:
Ken Murphy
ken.murphy@smsu.edu
| 2020 Sky & Space Calendar Preview | |
|---|---|
| January 5 | Earth at perihelion, closest point to the Sun |
| January 8 | Latest Sunrise |
| January 10-11 | Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Minnesota, most of North America) |
| January 25 | Chinese New Year—Year of the Rat |
| February 18 | Moon & Mars very close morning sky (Moon will occult, or cover, Mars for part of N. America) |
| February 29 | Leap Day |
| March 8 | Spring ahead! Daylight Saving Time begins |
| March 14 | Pi Day and Einstein’s Birthday |
| March 18 | 55th Anniversary of First Spacewalk—Russia’s Alexi Leonov |
| March 19 | Spring begins at 10:50 p.m. CDT |
| March 20 | Mars & Jupiter close in morning sky |
| March 24 | Venus highest in evening sky, greatest elongation from the Sun |
| March 31 | Mars & Saturn close in morning sky |
| April 2-3 | Venus & Pleiades star cluster |
| April 7 | Biggest Full Moon of 2020 (Also called Supermoon) |
| April 11-17 | 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13 |
| April 22 | 50th Anniversary of Earth Day |
| April 24 | 30th Anniversary of Hubble Space Telescope |
| May 1 | Venus sets four hours after sunset |
| May 21-23 | Venus & Mercury close in evening sky |
| May 31 | Venus sets 30 minutes after sunset |
| June 3 | Venus at inferior conjunction—between Earth & Sun; 55th Anniversary of First American Spacewalk—Ed White |
| June 5-6 | Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Minnesota, North America) |
| June 17 | Earliest Sunrise |
| June 18 | Mars & Mercury—very close in evening sky |
| June 20 | Summer Solstice starts at 4:44 a.m. CDT |
| June 21 | Annular Solar Eclipse: Africa, India, Asia |
| June 27 | Latest sunset |
| July | OSIRIS-Rex mission to Asteroid Bennu—sample collection (Returns to Earth 2023); ESA ExoMars Mission 2020 Launch (Rover lands February 2021); United Arab Emirates Mars Mission (Hope) Launch (Orbiter Science to start May 2021) |
| July 4 | Earth at aphelion, the farthest point from the Sun |
| July 4-5 | Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Minnesota, North America) |
| July 13 | Jupiter at opposition, opposite the Sun, up all night |
| July 17 | NASA Mars 2020 Rover Launch (Lands February 18, 2021) |
| July 20 | Saturn at opposition |
| July 30 | 410 years ago, Astronomer Galileo Galilei observes Saturn's Rings |
| August 11-13 | Perseid meteor shower peaks |
| August 13 | Venus highest in morning sky, greatest elongation from the Sun |
| September 11 | Neptune at opposition |
| September 22 | Fall arrives with the autumnal equinox at 2:50 a.m. CDT |
| October 6 | Mars closest to Earth (magnitude of -2.6, brighter than Jupiter, 3 times brighter than Sirius) |
| October 13 | Mars at opposition |
| October 30 | Uranus at opposition |
| November 2 | 20th Anniversary of International Space Station (ISS) continuously occupied. |
| November 3 | Fall back! Daylight Savings Time ends |
| November 30 | Penumbral Eclipse of Moon—barely noticeable—1:32 a.m. to 5:53 a.m. CST. |
| December | Hayabusa 2—Japanese asteroid sample returns to Earth; Launch of China’s Chang’e 5, Lunar Sample Return Mission |
| December 2 | 25th Anniversary Launch of SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) (still working) |
| December 7 | Earliest Sunset |
| December 12-14 | Geminid meteor shower peaks |
| December 14 | Total Solar Eclipse—Chile & Argentina |
| December 21 | Jupiter & Saturn Great Conjunction--evening sky (their closest approach since 1623!); Winter Solstice starts at 4:02 a.m. CST |
Last Modified: 1/28/20 9:06 AM