Mark your calendars: Top astronomical events of 2020

Jupiter and Saturn conjunction highlight the new year

ORLANDO, Fla- – The transit of Mercury highlighted the 2019 astronomical calendar and once again in 2020, planets will steal the show. The moon puts on a bright display first with the first supermoon of 2020. Keep your fingers crossed for a cloud free night on March 9.

Recommended Videos



On Apr. 7, the largest and brightest supermoon of the year will fill the night sky.

On Aug. 12, the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks.

The full moon on Halloween will be a blue moon, the second full moon of the month.

The king of meteor showers, the Geminids, peaks the night of Dec. 13.

We’ll have to wait until the end of the year for the rarest celestial event of 2020.

The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will highlight the night sky in mid-December. They will be joined by a crescent moon Dec. 16 and reach their closest point Dec. 21. If you use a telescope, both planets will lie in the same viewfinder. The two planets won’t be this close again until 2040.

This year will be void of any total eclipses. The next total eclipse will be a lunar eclipse in 2022. Happy viewing!


About the Author

Jonathan Kegges joined the News 6 team in June 2019 and now covers weather on TV and all digital platforms.

Recommended Videos