Turn your attention to the sky this year, New Mexico, and you’ll see celestial events happening every month of 2024.
What can I expect to see in the sky in 2024?
From full moons, new moons and planets to meteor showers, eclipses and a comet, 2024 is full of astrological happenings visible to the naked eye. The new year started with a continuation of the Quadrantids meteor shower, which started on Dec. 26.
Several super and micro moons are expected throughout the year. Micro moons are when the full or new moon is at apogee, or the farthest point on its orbit away from Earth. In contrast, the super moons are when the full or new moon is at perigee, or at the closest point on its orbit to Earth.
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And along with the annual solar eclipse which will take place in October and is visible in New Mexico, there will also be two lunar eclipses and a total solar eclipse. The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in March will show a lighter shadow around the main eclipse shadow. A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in September.
A total solar eclipse will pass through in April. According to the Time and Date website, North America will be the only continent to view the full eclipse. The site notes that the last time a total solar eclipse was visible from the entire lower 48 states in the U.S. was in August 2017 and in February 1979 prior to that.
The next time a total solar eclipse will be visible from the mainland U.S. will be in August 2044.
Another significant astronomical occurrence this year will be the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passing at its closest point to Earth in October. The comet was first detected in early 2023.
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According to Starwalk, the comet is expected to develop a significant tail and be particularly visible from the northern hemisphere. This favoring of the north was last seen with Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
The comet will pass closest to Earth on Oct. 12 and will be visible to the naked eye through mid-November.
Calendar of New Mexico celestial events in 2024
Here is a list of dates for events you can expect to see in the sky this year.
January
Dec. 26 to Jan. 16 – Quadrantids Meteor Shower (peak viewing is between 1 and 5 a.m. with an average of 25 meteors per hour)
Jan. 1 to Feb. 11 – Venus at its brightest in the morning sky
Jan. 5 to Jan. 26 – Mercury at its brightest in the morning sky
Jan. 11 – New Moon
Jan. 25 – Full Wolf Moon
February
Feb. 9 – Super New Moon
Feb. 24 – Micro Full Snow Moon
March
March 10 – Super New Moon
March 10 to March 31 – Mercury at its brightest in the evening sky
March 24 to March 25 – Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
March 25 – Micro Full Worm Moon
April
April 8 – Total Solar Eclipse
April 8 – Super New Moon
April 15 to April 29 – Lyrids meteor shower
April 15 to May 27 – Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower
April 23 – Full Pink Moon
May
May 7 – New Moon
May 23 – Full Flower Moon
June
June 6 – New Moon
June 21 – Full Strawberry Moon
July
July 5 – New Moon
July 7 to Aug. 15 – alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower
July 14 to Sept. 1 – Perseids Meteor Shower
July 18 to Aug. 21 – Southern delta Aquariids Meteor Shower
July 21 – Full Sturgeon Moon
July 23 to Nov. 19 – Neptune at its brightest
August
Aug. 4 – New Moon
Aug. 19 – Full Blue Moon
Aug. 25 to Oct. 1 – Saturn at its brightest in the evening sky
September
Sept. 2 – New Moon
Sept. 17 to Sept. 18 – Partial Lunar Eclipse
Sept. 17 – Full Corn Moon
Sept. 23 to Dec. 8 – Southern Taurids Meteor Shower
Sept. 26 to Nov. 22 – Orionids Meteor Shower
October
Oct. 2 – Annual Solar Eclipse
Oct. 2 – Micro New Moon
Oct. 5 to Dec. 31 – Venus at its brightest in the evening sky
Oct. 12 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS makes closest pass to Earth
Oct. 13 to Dec. 2 – Northern Taurids Meteor Shower
Oct. 15 to Dec. 21 – Uranus at its brightest in the evening sky
Oct. 17 – Super Full Hunter’s Moon
November
Nov. 1 – New Moon
Nov. 3 to Dec. 2 – Leonids Meteor Shower
Nov. 14 to Dec. 28 – Jupiter at its brightest
Nov. 15 – Full Beaver Moon
Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 – Geminids Meteor Shower
Nov. 30 – Black Moon (second full moon in one calendar month)
December
Dec. 13 to Dec. 24 – Ursids Meteor Shower
Dec. 15 – Full Cold Moon
Dec. 18 to Dec. 31 – Mercury at its brightest in the morning sky
Dec. 30 – New Moon
Dec. 31 – Mars at its brightest in the night sky
Where is the best place to view celestial events?
According to NASA, the best places to skywatch are found away from urban areas where light pollution hinders viewers’ ability to see fainter stars, planets and other objects. Open areas such as large fields, valleys, hiking trails and camping sites. However, be sure to ensure your safety before stargazing in a secluded area.
Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on X, formerly Twitter.
Crystal Romero had battled darkness for over a decade, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after a long career in the New Mexico Army National Guard. She was treated with antidepressants but didn’t find solace and healing until she was introduced to psilocybin mushrooms in Jamaica.
The Albuquerque mother of three believes the use of psychedelic drugs — at low doses and in a controlled environment — can do tremendous good for people in New Mexico, a state that long has seen high rates of poverty and addiction. Now she wants others to have access to psilocybin-assisted therapy.
“Working with psilocybin has really allowed me to sit with my grief,” Romero said. “Depression doesn’t have to consume your life. I was able to reconnect with myself, reconnect with kids, reconnect with my community.”
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Under new legislation, New Mexico is following the path of Oregon and Colorado in preparing to roll out a tightly regulated medical psilocybin program by late 2027. Proponents of psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychoactive ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” celebrated in April when Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the legislation allowing the program into law.
Some studies on psilocybin-aided treatment have been promising, they point out, and there is a new wave of interest in popular culture.
The practice of microdosing, or using very small amounts of a psychedelic for treatment, has hit the mainstream. News outlets recently reported Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general, suggested in a newsletter her use of magic mushrooms helped her find a romantic partner.
New Mexico’s Senate Bill 219, known as the Medical Psilocybin Act, establishes a regulated program for the medical use of psilocybin to treat qualified medical conditions such as major treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorder and end-of-life care. It soared through both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan support.
The program, set to be fully launched by Dec. 31, 2027, calls for psilocybin to be administered to patients by a New Mexico-licensed health care provider in an approved clinical setting.
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State Rep. Angel Charley, D-Acoma, outside the San José de la Laguna Mission Church in Laguna Pueblo in May 2023. Charley noted in her speech about the bill on the Senate floor that psychedelic healing is no novel concept for Indigenous communities in the Southwest. “This medicine is not groundbreaking,” she said. “It is only new to Western modalities of healing.”
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Michael Benanav/Searchlight New Mexico
Psychedelic healing is no novel concept for Indigenous communities in the Southwest, state Sen. Angel Charley, D-Acoma, noted earlier this year when she addressed colleagues about the bill on the Senate floor.
“This medicine is not groundbreaking,” she said. “It is only new to Western modalities of healing.”
Charley recognized legendary Oaxacan curandera María Sabina during her floor speech.
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“And so I ask those voting today that we carry this knowledge forward,” she said. “This is something that our communities have offered people for hundreds of years.”
Guardrails for safe delivery
Oregon and Colorado established their medical psilocybin programs by way of ballot initiatives, so New Mexico became the first state in the U.S. to approve a program through legislation. According to the online network Psychedelic Alpha, legislation related to “psychedelic medicines” has been introduced in at least 15 states.
Still illegal under federal law, however, psilocybin is listed as a Schedule 1 drug — defined as a substance “with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Advocates and lawmakers have pointed to the stiff guardrails New Mexico’s program would have to prevent abuse of the substance.
Sen. Craig Brandt, R- Rio Rancho, one of the sponsors of SB 19, said, “I think we put the guardrails in there the right way to where it’s not like the medical marijuana program. It’s a very limited application. So, there’s very few things that it can be used for.”
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Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, speaks on the Senate floor in February 2024. Brandt was one of the sponsors of Senate Bill 19, which was approved with wide bipartisan support.
New Mexican file photo
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He noted patients could only receive psilocybin treatment in an approved clinical setting, without an option of taking the substance home.
Psilocybin research has shown benefits for those struggling with PTSD, Brandt said, adding lawmakers heard testimony from veterans in committee hearings.
“I do think New Mexico has a chance to do this somewhat differently, with more integrity. I would put it that way,” said Janine Sagert, a retired psychologist in Santa Fe who has advocated for psilocybin since the 1970s. “I’m very hopeful about that.”
Those who have advocated for New Mexico’s medical psilocybin program are quick to point out treatments have nothing to do with hallucinating or getting high, and magic mushrooms are not legal for recreational use in the state.
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Adele Getty — director of the nonprofit organizing The Enchanted State, a September conference on the psychedelic movement at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, believes this is a good idea.
“Oregon did a massive [decriminalization]. That was not beneficial for Oregon; Portland in particular,” Getty said. “I think Colorado is doing a better job in terms of implementation. And Oregon has actually learned and, I would say, upgraded its whole system.”
Despite the popularity of SB 19, a handful of state lawmakers opposed the program.
“My opposition to [SB] 219 is strictly due to the very little we know about this drug,” Rep. Luis Terrazas, R-Santa Clara, wrote in a text message. “While I am always supportive of therapies to help alleviate symptoms of depression and PTSD, I was not comfortable with the information provided in the debate to support it.”
Still, Terrazas hopes the therapy will be safe for those who use it and that it “truly provides relief where traditional drugs have failed.”
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“Working with psilocybin has really allowed me to sit with my grief,” Crystal Romero said. “Depression doesn’t have to consume your life. I was able to reconnect with myself, reconnect with kids, reconnect with my community.”
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
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How the program will take shape
SB 19 calls for the establishment of the Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board, with nine members “knowledgeable about the medical use of psilocybin,” including at least one who is enrolled in a tribal nation, one veteran and one behavioral health advocate.
Applications will open soon for this panel, which will be tasked with recommending patient qualifications and assisting the state Department of Health in developing, monitoring and evaluating best practices for producers and clinicians.
Aspects of the program will take shape over the next two years with input from stakeholders, said Dominick Zurlo, director of the Health Department’s Center for Medical Cannabis; the agency’s title will soon be expanded to include the word “psilocybin.”
“That’s what these next two years are about, about making sure that we are setting up the best requirements for those providers in the clinics,” Zurlo said.
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Brandt noted patients will spend a substantial amount of time with a clinician while treatment is administered. For proponents like Romero, this is an important aspect of the program.
Before her first experience with the treatment in Jamaica, Romero worked with a coach to prepare. There also were people at her side to coach her through the treatment, she said.
Crystal Romero holds a small glass mushroom made for her by her friend after New Mexico’s Senate Bill 219, known as the Medical Psilocybin Act, was signed into law this year. The program, set to be fully launched by Dec. 31, 2027, calls for psilocybin to be administered to patients by a New Mexico-licensed health care provider in an approved clinical setting.
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Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
The Health Department is now developing the process for implementing the program, including treatment protocols, safety guidelines, clinician and producer training requirements and data-collection methods to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.
State funding will be funneled toward the nascent program, starting with $1 million in fiscal year 2026 to add new employees to the Health Department, Zurlo said.
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The psilocybin law calls for a new Medical Psilocybin Treatment Fund to aid qualified low-income patients and a Medical Psilocybin Research Fund to support studies by universities and health care providers.
The University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center launched new psilocybin-related research last summer, including a study on RE104 — a novel compound related to psilocybin — for postpartum depression.
The Health Department will be responsible for overseeing producers in New Mexico, as psilocybin administered by clinicians must be cultivated and produced within the state.
“We need to ensure it is actually grown and produced [here] so we are not putting anybody at risk on a federal level with crossing state lines,” Zurlo said.
A Legislative Finance Committee analysis found an estimated 1,748 New Mexicans might use the program each year, based on numbers of patients in Oregon, a state with a 5-year-old medical psilocybin program.
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“That’s going to depend a lot on how many clinics we end up permitting,” Zurlo said. “We’re really going to be evaluating that over the next two years to help determine how many can be served within those first several years.”
It is difficult to predict how many providers will become certified to participate, he said. Oregon, with a population about twice as large as New Mexico’s, had around 32 clinics permitted in its program’s first year, he noted.
Romero, who was raised around the state in Taos, Las Vegas and Mora, is optimistic about the program. “It’s really going to bring some healing in the state,” she said. “If we can rebuild ourselves, we can rebuild our communities.”
In the nearly two months since New Mexico head coach Eric Olen and staff have been in charge, they’ve rebuilt the Lobos roster by adding 13 names to next season’s team.
With the summer recruiting circuit getting underway, Olen and staff have begun looking at their next targets in the high school class beginning with 2026 names. A rising senior now on New Mexico’s radar is forward Trevon Carter-Givens. Playing for Team WhyNot in front of college coaches during the May viewing period, Carter-Givens averaged eight points and seven rebounds per game while helping his team to a 3-0 record.
Following the weekend, his recruitment continued to expand with offers from Creighton, TCU and New Mexico coming in. This followed offers from Florida State, Seton Hall, UNLV and San Francisco in April.
Carter-Givens played his first two high school seasons at Templeton High School in California’s Central Coast, a school with less than 800 enrolled. He made the move to Southern California Academy prior to his junior season, pairing up with a team that is primarily made up of top recruits. He’s settled into his role as a big man and continues to show off his improvements over the past year.
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Eric Olen’s initial roster at New Mexico is heavy with players plucked from the transfer portal, as has become a normal procedure across the country, even more so in the case of a new head coach left with virtually nothing on the roster. The Lobos have signed three high school recruits for 2025, Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall and Sir Marius Jones. Tenette and Hall were previously signed with play for Olen at UC San Diego while Jones was headed for UC Irvine but is following assistant coach Michael Wilder to Albuquerque.
Eight of New Mexico’s commitments over the past two months have come from the transfer portal with Chris Howell and Milos Vincentic, starting the run of commitments while following Olen and staff over from UC San Diego. New Mexico’s other two commitments have come from different paths. Forward Antonio Chol averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game this past season at Garden City Community College after starting his career at Rutgers. New Mexico’s newest commitment, Tomislav Buljan, comes to the college game after several professional seasons in Europe. The 6-foot-8, 22-year-old Buljan is a native of Croatia and has four seasons of eligibility.
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