There are plenty of exciting astronomical sights to see in the night sky in 2024, from meteor showers and wandering planets to icy comets, rocket launches, supermoons, and more!
Check out the space and astronomy highlights to look forward to this year with astronomers from the Royal Observatory Greenwich. If you want to find out more, be sure to bookmark the monthly astronomy highlights blog and subscribe to the Royal Observatory Greenwich on YouTube.
Written by Jake Foster and Julienne Hisole.
January
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See the Quadrantid meteor shower
The new year kicks off in style with one of the strongest and most consistent meteor showers of the year, the Quadrantids. This shower is known for its fireballs - meteors that appear brighter than even the brightest planets.
The Quadrantids peak on the night of January 3rd and the morning of the 4th, when potentially up to 110 meteors can be seen in an hour.
This year, however, at the peak the Moon will be around its last quarter phase, so moonlight will likely drown out many of the fainter meteors.
To get the best out of this shower, wrap up warm and get to a dark spot away from light pollution. Fill your view with as much of the sky as possible. If you think you see a Quadrantid meteor, you’ll know by tracing its path backwards and seeing if it passes through the northern part of the constellation Boötes, the radiant point from which the meteors will seem to originate.
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Spot the 'new year' comet, 62P/Tsuchinshan
Early this year we will see the return of an icy interloper to our inner solar system: a comet that goes by the name of 62P/Tsuchinshan.
Discovered on New Year’s Day in 1965 by a team of Chinese astronomers, this enormous chunk of ice and rock is estimated to be 10 kilometres in diameter and makes its way back to the inner solar system once every 6.2 years. As it approaches the Sun, its ices begin to melt and evaporate away, producing a bright tail of gas that can stretch for millions of kilometres.
Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan makes its closest approach to the Sun on Christmas Eve, and it will come closest to the Earth on 30 January, when it will be just under 75 million kilometres away. At this time of the year it will be within the constellation of Leo, but with a predicted maximum magnitude of 9 you’ll be unable to see this with the naked eye (and you’ll need a very dark sky to spot it).
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See the inner planets of the Solar System (Venus and Mercury)
While both Venus and Mercury are bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, because they're both closer to the Sun than the Earth is, they rarely get far from it in the sky. This makes them difficult or even dangerous to see at times. This is especially true for Mercury, which is smaller, fainter and closer to the Sun than Venus.
If you’d like to see these rocky worlds for yourself, your best bet is usually to wait for their greatest elongation. This is the time when each planet is furthest from the Sun, and therefore more likely to still be above the horizon when the blinding Sun has set.
Venus will not reach its greatest eastern or western elongation in 2024. For most of the year it will be fairly close to the Sun in the sky, even passing behind it on 4 June. However, it can still be observed at certain times throughout the year. It is best viewed in January before sunrise, or in December after sunset. In and around these times, Venus will be easily visible as a morning and evening 'star' respectively.
For a greater challenge, try looking for Mercury’s greatest elongations: western (and therefore seen in the morning) around 12 January, 9 May and 5 September and eastern (seen in the evening) around 24 March, 22 July and 16 November.
As with any observation close to the Sun, make certain you don’t look directly at the Sun and, if observing with a telescope or pair of binoculars, wait until after sunset or before sunrise to avoid accidentally pointing them at it.
February
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Search for another galaxy
There is a new Moon on 10 March, which can be used to search for more deep sky objects in the cosmos.
Keep an eye out for the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way. Just after sunset, if you look towards the northwest, the Andromeda Galaxy can be seen near the Andromeda and Cassiopeia constellations. In dark areas away from city lights, this galaxy can be seen with a simple pair of binoculars or even the naked eye!
March
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Notice the tilt of the Earth at equinoxes and solstices
Changes in the length of day and night are caused by the tilt of the Earth. When the Earth orbits the Sun, at certain times of year the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from it. For the other half of the year, the reverse happens.
Equinoxes happen when neither hemisphere is tilted towards or away from the Sun and there are roughly equal hours of daylight and darkness. Solstices, on the other hand, happen when a specific hemisphere is tilted towards or away from the Sun, which makes long days or long nights.
You can keep an eye out for the equinoxes and solstices to notice how the length of day and night changes throughout the year. The two equinoxes happen on 20 March (Spring Equinox) and 22 September (Autumn Equinox) and the days and nights should roughly be the same length. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice will be on 20 June and there will be over 16.5 hours of daylight on this particular day! The winter solstice will be on 21 December, and there will be slightly less than eight hours of daylight.
More about equinoxes and solstices
April
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Look out for the Lyrid meteor shower
The Lyrids will be visible from 14-30 April, peaking on 22-23 April. Although not the most active meteor shower, the Lyrids can sometimes feature meteors with bright dust trails that glow for several seconds.
The best time to look for the Lyrids, if the weather permits, is in the early hours of 23 April. This year, the shower comes to a maximum at full Moon, so moonlight will affect viewing conditions.
The source of the Lyrids is the Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which orbits the Sun once every 415 years. It is the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today, and was first recorded in 687 BCE.
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May
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Look out for the Eta Aquariids
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is active between 19 April and 28 May, peaking around 6 May with a rate of up to 50 meteors per hour.
This shower is more visible for the Southern Hemisphere and will appear low in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere in the early hours pre-dawn.
Nevertheless, it should still be possible to see the shower in the eastern sky, even when the radiant is below the horizon. This year the maximum on May 6 happens two days before new Moon, resulting in good seeing conditions.
Look eastwards to spot the star Eta Aquariid in the constellation of Aquarius, after which the meteor shower is named. The source of the meteor shower is the famous Halley’s Comet, which is visible from Earth every 75-76 years.
June
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Sight some noctilucent clouds
Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere can look out for noctilucent clouds during their peak season in June and July.
Noctilucent clouds are clouds which appear to glow silver or blue during the late evening or early morning hours. This happens when the Sun is below the horizon but still illuminates the nighttime clouds from below.
These clouds are formed in the mesosphere when ice crystals form on suspended dust particles. Although their occurrence is quite unpredictable, there are ways you can give yourself the best chance of seeing them.
Look up an hour or two after sunset or before sunrise from somewhere with a flat horizon and a clear view of a wide patch of sky. In the evening, look west around 40 minutes after the Sun has set. In the early morning, look towards the northeast where the Sun will soon be rising.
July and August
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Catch the Perseid meteor shower
July and August will see the Perseid meteor shower, caused by the debris stream from the comet Swift-Tuttle (also known as the Great Comet of 1862).
It’s a highlight of many astronomers’ calendars due to its high hourly rate and bright meteors. At the peak you could see up to 100 meteors per hour, and you might even catch some fireballs too.
In 2024 the Perseid meteor shower is active between 17 July and 24 August, with the shower peaking 12-13 August. This year the maximum of the shower falls during the Moon's first quarter phase, so viewing conditions are reasonably favourable.
The shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Perseus, so find a dark spot and look there for the best chance of seeing some Perseid meteors.
September
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Observe a planet at opposition
When a planet is at opposition, it’s positioned opposite to the Sun in the sky, which fully illuminates its face so that it appears at its brightest.
Four planets will be at opposition in 2024; Saturn moves into opposition on 8 September, Neptune on 21 September, Uranus on 17 November and Jupiter on 7 December.
These moments are potentially great opportunities for astrophotography, but it may be worth trying your techniques out on more visible planets like Saturn first!
October
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Sight some Orionid meteors
With a maximum rate of around 25 meteors per hour, the Orionid meteor shower peaks around the night of 21 October. This shower features particularly fast meteors which can leave persistent trains.
In 2024, with the Moon at its waning gibbous phase during the peak, conditions are not particularly favourable to spot this shower - but it's still worth a try!
As with other showers, for the best chance to see the Orionids fill your view with the sky. Look out for the bright streaks of light that come from small grains of the famous Halley’s Comet crashing into Earth’s atmosphere.
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Marvel at a supermoon
The Moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical or oval-shaped orbit, which means that during its orbit it travels from its closest approach to us (perigee) to its furthest distance from us (apogee).
When the Moon is at perigee and it’s at a full Moon or new Moon phase, we call it a supermoon. A full Moon at perigee will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a full Moon at apogee, but since we can’t really compare the two side by side, most people won't notice much difference.
There will be two Super Full Moons in 2024, one on 18 September and another on 17 October.
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Watch the Europa Clipper launch
In 2024 we won’t just be preparing to go to our own moon, but we'll actually be going to other planets' moons as well! Scheduled for launch in October 2024, the Europa Clipper will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which scientists believe has an ocean of liquid water under its crust which has more water than Earth’s oceans combined, making it one of the only places in our Solar System that humans could inhabit in the future.
The spacecraft, set to reach orbit around Jupiter by 2030, will make multiple flybys around Europa at altitudes as low as 25 kilometres above the surface, and will be able to scan almost the entirety of the moon. This mission aims to gather more information about Europa’s composition and geology, which will help to investigate whether places underneath the surface have conditions that may support life.
November
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Say hello to the Seven Sisters
The Pleiades star cluster is well-placed in the night sky for observing throughout the whole of November.
This open star cluster sits within the constellation of Taurus the Bull and is visible with the naked eye. It’s one of the most easily recognisable asterisms (pattern of stars) to spot in the night sky during the winter, with the stars in the cluster glowing a luminous blue.
While you may assume there are only seven stars in the cluster, there are actually over 1,000, but only six are usually visible with the naked eye. Stargazers with sharper eyes, however, may be able to spot more members of the family.
The Pleiades are very young in the scheme of the Universe at only around 100 million years old, meaning the dinosaurs walked the Earth before these stars were formed!
No viewing equipment is needed to see the sisters, but taking a look with binoculars or a telescope will allow you to look closely at individual gems within the cluster.
December
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Spot the Geminid meteor shower
The Geminid meteor shower, with a possible hourly rate of 150 meteors per hour, is usually one of the best meteor shower displays you can see all year.
In 2024 it’ll be active between 4 and 20 December and reaches maximum on 14-15 December. In 2024 the peak happens when the Moon will be full, so its natural light pollution will cause some interference viewing the shower.
Geminid meteors are often slower than those from most other meteor showers, and so they often appear to last longer.
As with most meteor showers your best chance to see meteors is in the early hours of the morning around the peak, though a good number should be seen any time from a few hours after sunset. Fill your view with the sky and wait for the lights to appear. And, given this is a midwinter wonder, don’t forget to wrap up warm!
Header image: Radio Polaris © João Yordanov Serralheiro, shortlisted in Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023
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