The Galactic Times

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF closest to Earth...
2023-02-01
….and brightest?

Last Quarter Moon
2023-01-14, 2022-12-15 - 2022-12-16

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF reaches perihelion
2023-01-12

Mars Stationary...
2023-01-12
….then resumes eastward motion.

Moon at Apogee
2023-01-07 23:30 - 2023-01-08 00:30 (America/Chicago)

Pollux near the Moon
2023-01-07 00:30 - 06:00

Mercury in Solar Conjunction
2023-01-07

Full Moon
2023-01-05 - 2023-01-06

Algol has an evening eclipse
2023-01-04 20:00 - 23:30, 2023-01-01 17:00 - 23:30

Quadrantid Meteor Shower peak
2023-01-03 16:00 - 2023-01-04 16:00
10pm, lasts only a few hours, but can be as much as 120 meteors per hour.

Mars near Moon, or occulted....
2023-01-03 09:00 - 14:00
….Mars is a half-degree North of the Moon in the afternoon US time. You’ll find it left of the Moon in the evening, and behind the Moon if you are in East Africa.

Earth at Perihelion
2023-01-03
Closest to the Sun for the year, 91.4 million miles.

Uranus occulted by Moon
2023-01-02

Various New Years!!
2022-12-31 23:00 - 2023-01-01 01:30
See the article in TGT #38 for all the details…
Given an origin of January 1, 2022, midnight, the New Year begins at:
5:48:36 AM for the Mean Tropical Year;
6:09:00 AM for the Mean Sidereal Year;
6:13:48 AM for the Mean Anomalistic Year; and
see January 8th…..

Mercury Left of Venus, and at closest
2022-12-29 02:00 - 2022-12-30 11:00
1.4 degrees apart, Mercury only +0.9 in brightness, what a drop in a week!

Jupiter 2 degrees from Moon
2022-12-28 - 2022-12-29

First Quarter Moon
2022-12-28 - 2022-12-29

Mercury above Venus
2022-12-26 - 2022-12-28

Saturn 4 deg. N. of Moon
2022-12-26 10:00 - 17:00

Mercury 4 degrees, Venus 3....
2022-12-24 10:00 - 12:00
…degrees North of Moon, PRETTY!

1d Old Moon at Perigee + ...
2022-12-24 10:00 - 12:00
…see Mercury and Venus nearby!

New Moon
2022-12-22 - 2022-12-23

Ursids meteors
2022-12-22 10:00 - 16:00
Peaks at 4PM US Central Time, runs at up to 10 meteors per hour for the next 6-12 hours.

Mercury Greatest Elongation
2022-12-20 - 2022-12-21
Magnitude -0.6

Solstice
2022-12-18 02:00 - 11:00
3:48 PM US Central Time

Sun enters Sagittarius
2022-12-17 - 2022-12-18

Mercury and Venus 5.9 degrees apart
2022-12-16 11:00 - 12:00
see in binoculars about 30 minutes after Sunset

Geminid meteor shower peak
2022-12-13 - 2022-12-14
