New Mexico
Eclipses, comets and meteor showers: Check out the celestial events viewable in 2024
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.
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.
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.
Grant’s Thursday Evening Forecast
Showers and thunderstorms will continue in eastern New Mexico tonight into Friday. Breezy winds will bring an elevated fire danger in the western half of the state.
Thunderstorms are firing up Thursday afternoon along and east of New Mexico’s central mountain chain while gusty south winds over 30 mph are driving an elevated fire danger across western parts of the state. Storms will continue spreading across eastern New Mexico through this evening, bringing locally heavy rainfall, lightning, small hail, and gusty winds. The winds will weaken later tonight, but showers and thunderstorms will keep going across eastern New Mexico overnight into early Friday morning.
A few spotty storms will redevelop Friday afternoon across eastern New Mexico, with a couple near the Texas state line capable of turning strong to severe. At the same time, breezy southwest winds will ramp back up across western New Mexico, with gusts over 35 mph creating another round of elevated fire danger. Storms will push east out of New Mexico Friday evening while winds gradually ease overnight.
Quieter and drier weather takes over this weekend. Temperatures Saturday afternoon will cool a few degrees but still stay near average for late May. Breezy afternoon winds will continue Saturday before lighter winds and warmer temperatures return Sunday.
Moisture will start building back into eastern New Mexico Monday, bringing a slight chance for thunderstorms near the Texas state line. Monday will also be the hottest day of the warming trend statewide. More moisture spreads into the eastern half of the state Tuesday, increasing storm chances along and east of the Rio Grande Valley by afternoon. Even deeper moisture arrives statewide by Wednesday and Thursday, fueling more widespread showers and thunderstorms through the middle of next week.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Skies are partly to mostly clear with most similar or slightly milder than yesterday. Winds are a little breezy occasionally with the highest humidity values mostly from out east and to the north.
Air temperatures in the north are mostly starting off in the 30s to the low 50s. Elsewhere to the south, air temperatures are mostly ranging from around the high 30s to the low 60s.
Many areas from eastern New Mexico to the Pecos River Valley area will range from the high 60s to the 80s from north to south from high to low elevation. The northern higher elevations will mostly range from the high 40s to near 60°, while the northern valley floors to western and central areas will mostly range from the high 70s to the low 90s.
Southerly upper-level winds, in combination to the low-level moisture still lingering around the northern high elevations to out east, will lead to few thunderstorms capable of producing brief bouts of heavy rain, small hail, some lightning, & gusty conditions.
Ridging in the jet stream will then allow for clearer conditions, drier air, and for temperatures to rebound for the remainder of the week. However, slightly more thunderstorms will form for some eastern and mountainous areas late in the week, resulting in outflow-southeasterly winds to occasionally pick up.
Even hotter air returns late this weekend into early next week before thunderstorms are more likely to form next week.
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