Sky Events

article at www.almanac.com (Old Farmer's Almanac) =
What will make 2017 so special celestially?  The mainland United States will have its first total solar eclipse in 38 years.  It’s not too early to plan where you’ll be.  The moon’s shadow will travel along a narrow 150 mile wide path and that’s where you want to be on August 21.  Go online and search NASA total solar eclipse August 21 and you’ll see a map of the moon’s path.  Maybe you even have friends or relatives somewhere in that trajectory.  Start planning now.

January 1: Moon, Venus, Mars

And give a toast to the Dog Star that it sends some of its magical canine energy and keeps the weather clear that day, during 2017’s “Dog Days” of summer. Or wait, hold off on that toast for a few hours, until later that day. Because, in a bit more magic, at dusk on January 1, during evening twilight, the crescent Moon will form a gorgeous conjunction and sit right beneath dazzling bright Venus, with dim orange Mars a bit higher up. Yes, the year will begin auspiciously