The New Year is right around the corner and with it comes a new set of astronomical events to watch out for. A lot of memorable scenes in the skies were seen in 2014 and the same should be expected of 2015.
Right off the bat, planets will be more visible in January, with Venus and Mercury returning to the evening skies as soon as the New Year turns. Jupiter will also start showing in the same month and will be so bright it might cause a spike in UFO reports. Venus and Mercury will also be seen closest together on Jan. 11.
Come Feb. 20, the moon will be forming a tight triangle with Mars and Venus. The next day, the moon will be seen in front of Uranus, marking the first occultation by the moon for the year.
In March, expect a very mathematical day on the 14th as Pi Day is celebrated. Mathematicians typically celebrate the event every 14th day of the third month of the year because of the approximate value of Pi set at 3.14. This year, however, will be particularly special because the date lines up to 3-14-15. Rounding off the value of Pi to the nearest ten-thousandth will yield 3.1415.
A week after Pi Day, a total solar eclipse will take place on March 20, visible only to ships on the Norwegian Sea, Svalbard and Faroe Islands. The United States will not see another total solar eclipse until Aug. 21, 2017.
April will bring the first lunar eclipse of 2015 on Apr. 4, just before sunrise. As the event will be occurring late in the morning, those on the east coast will not see it. The start of the eclipse will be visible to those in the Midwest while those in the Pacific Coast and mountain states will mostly see all of it.
Venus and Jupiter will come together on June 30, making it hard to tell them apart. The two planets will be back together again in the morning of Oct. 6, lining up with Mars on Oct. 28.
On July 14, the New Horizons spacecraft will be finally passing by Pluto, giving everyone a glimpse of what the dwarf planet looks like up-close.
On Aug. 12 to 13, shooting stars will be visible around the Perseids.
On Sept. 27, the most visible lunar eclipse will happen. Aside from happening on a full moon, this particular lunar eclipse will coincide with a Supermoon and Harvest Moon. Expect tinges of red in the sky as well as the moon enters the Earth's shadow.
Without interference from the moon, shooting stars around the Leonids from Nov. 17 to 18 and the Geminids on Dec. 13 and 14 should also be highly visible.
