5 Incredibly Rare Things That Will Appear in The Sky in 2024

Astronomically speaking, 2023 was a remarkable year. The hybrid solar eclipse in April, the Ring of Fire eclipse in October, and the peak of the Geminids and Perseids on moonless nights were among the most memorable celestial events. However, 2024 promises to be even more exceptional. This year, we will witness four eclipses, encounter two bright naked-eye comets, and observe several planetary conjunctions that you won't want to miss. Let's take a closer look at the five most incredible astronomical events set to occur in 2024, and make sure to subscribe to our channel so you don't miss them. In 2024, there will be four eclipses, with the total solar eclipse on April 8th being perhaps the most anticipated of the year. The path of totality, where the moon completely covers the sun, will traverse North America, starting from Mexico and moving through the United States to Canada. This is the only eclipse of the century where the path of totality crosses the US, Mexico, and Canada. In the US, totality will begin in Texas at 1.27pm CDT and end in Maine at 3.35pm EDT on April 8th. It will be the longest total solar eclipse visible from the US in a century. The maximum duration of totality will be about 4 minutes and 28 seconds. The record for the longest total solar eclipse in history goes back to June 15th, 743 BC, with the duration of 7 minutes and 28 seconds off the coast of Kenya and Somalia. The 2024's eclipse duration is about twice that of the 2017 Great American Eclipse, which over 20 million people viewed. During the total phase of the eclipse, the sky will darken and the corona, the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere, will become visible. Observers may also witness Bailey's beads and the diamond ring effect just before and after totality. However, it is crucial to use proper solar viewing glasses for the eclipse. Although totality will be visible from parts of 15 American states, a partial eclipse will be visible across all 48 contiguous US states, with the next opportunity not arising until 2044. On April 8th, an estimated 32 million people will be exposed to the path of totality. Observers also have a chance of viewing Comet 12P, Ponds Brooks, or the Devil Comet during totality. Preceding the total solar eclipse, a penumbral lunar eclipse will occur on March 25th. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon only grazes the Earth's outer shadow, called a penumbra. This results in subtle dimming of the moon's brightness, but not nearly as dramatic as a total or partial eclipse. The eclipse will be visible from much of the Americas, Antarctica, Alaska, and northeastern Russia. The third eclipse of the year will be a partial lunar eclipse on September 18th, visible from parts of the Americas, Africa, Europe, Antarctica, southwestern Russia, and western Asia. This lunar eclipse is particularly exciting, as it will occur on the night of the year's first supermoon. Finally, the last eclipse of the year will be an annular solar eclipse on October 2nd, visible from parts of Antarctica and South America. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon doesn't completely cover the solar disk but leaves a small ring of fire around it. So 2024 offers an excellent opportunity to witness different types of eclipses from different parts of the world. A comet twice the size of Mount Everest is approaching Earth and will become visible in the spring of 2024. Its official name, Comet 12P Ponds-Brooks, is much less intimidating than its nickname, the Devil Comet. Discovered in 1812, this comet completes an orbit around the Sun approximately every 71.2 years. The comet earned the Devil Comet moniker due to a significant event in late July 2023. During this period, it experienced an outburst, releasing substantial gas and dust, leading to a dramatic increase in brightness by a factor of about 100 almost overnight. This was the first outburst in 69 years, and as of November last year, the comet had erupted four times. The outburst resulted in the comet's coma taking on a unique shape, resembling a horseshoe or having horns, with a dark core and visibly bright wings or tips. This distinctive appearance led to its portrayal in the media as the Devil Comet. By the end of March, you can see the Devil Comet in the west soon after sunset. The comet will be near the Sun during the April 8 total solar eclipse, providing observers in North America with the opportunity to see it when the moon completely covers the solar disk. It will next make a close approach to the Sun on April 24, but reach its peak brightness on April 21. The comet will then make its closest approach to Earth on 2 June, when it will be about 1.5 times the Earth-Sun distance. Since 12P Pons Brooks is an icy volcanic comet with a heart of ice, gas, and dust within an icy outer shell, its brightness is difficult to predict. Which depends on its eruptions as it races towards the Sun at a speed 30 times faster than the fastest F-16 aircraft. Even if it doesn't put on a great show, there's another comet racing towards us with a high probability of outshining even the brightest stars in the October night sky, offering a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity. We are long overdue for a beautiful comet with a wispy tail stretching across our evening sky. As it turns out, 2024 could end that spell. A dazzling comet is approaching the Earth with the potential to outshine even the brightest stars in the night sky. It's called C2023 A3 Suchanshan Atlas. Comet A3 was discovered when it was roughly 1.1 billion kilometers from Earth. If the comet behaves as expected, it should become visible through small telescopes in the early summer of this year. By late September, it may even be visible to the naked eye or through binoculars as a pre-dawn object low in the east before sunrise. Whether or not it will have a tail at this point is still uncertain, as it depends on the age and activity level of the comet. In early October 2024, Comet A3 will pass very close to the Sun from our perspective of Earth, and as a result, it will disappear from sight. Assuming the comet survives its close encounter with the Sun, it should reappear in the northern hemisphere sky after October 11th or 12th, 2024. At this point, it will become visible after sunset and gradually move higher in the sky each evening, making it easier to observe. If we are lucky, Comet A3 may become as bright as first or even zero magnitude, outshining most stars in the night sky. Nevertheless, predicting the behavior of comets is notoriously challenging, and it's impossible to say for sure what will happen. So, all we can do is patiently await the approach of this celestial visitor and observe its progress as it draws nearer to our planet. 2024 will be an excellent time to witness close, apparent encounters of planets in the sky. The first will be the Venus-Mars conjunction on February 22nd and 23rd. The two planets will pass within half a degree of each other in the southeastern predawn sky in the constellation Capricornus. Observing the conjunction might be a little challenging, as the planets will be close to the horizon. Venus will be the brighter of the two, shining at a magnitude of negative 3.9, while Mars will be fairly bright at 1.3. A month later, on March 22nd, Venus will have a new companion in its conjunction. Saturn will pass within one-third of a degree of Venus in the southeastern predawn sky in the constellation Aquarius. They will be close enough to fit within the field of view of a telescope, and will also be visible to the naked eye or through binoculars. A couple of weeks later, on April 6th, the Moon will join the party, forming a triple conjunction with Mars and Saturn. The third observable conjunction will occur on April 11th, when Mars and Saturn will pass within half a degree of each other in the constellation Aquarius. The two will have almost the same brightness and become visible in the southeastern predawn sky on April 11th. Finally, the most spectacular planetary conjunction will be on August 14th, as Mars and Jupiter pass within 0.3 degrees of each other. By this time, Mars will be much closer to Earth than at the beginning of the year, making the conjunction of the two brightest planets a highly anticipated celestial event. Look for them in the east a couple of hours after midnight. Last but not least, the lunar occultations of Saturn. The occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object, passing between it and the observer. A lunar occultation specifically refers to the event where the Moon moves in front of and obscures a distant object, such as a star or planet from our view. From April to December 2024, there will be nine lunar occultations of Saturn. However, only a few will be significant from an observational perspective. The first will be on July 24th, visible from parts of Africa and Asia. The second will be on August 21st, visible from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. Then, on September 17th, it will be visible from parts of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Pacific, and Australia. The occultation on October 14th will be visible from Asia and Africa. And finally, the one on November 10th will be observable from parts of the Americas. Besides these rare celestial events, there will be three supermoons and several annual meteor showers you won't want to miss. Every month, we release a video on the astronomy calendar for the month. Make sure to subscribe to our channel to get all the space updates on time. So, happy skygazing and thanks for watching!