LUNAR PHASES
New First Quarter Full Last Quarter
Jan. 2 Jan. 9 Jan. 17 Jan. 25
Feb. 1 Feb. 8 Feb. 16 Feb. 23
March 2 March 10 March 18 March 25
April 1 April 9 April 16 April 23
April 30 May 8 May 16 May 22
May 30 June 7 June 14 June 20
June 28 July 6 July 13 July 20
July 28 Aug. 5 Aug. 11 Aug. 19
Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17
Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 17
Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 16
Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 Dec. 16
Dec. 23 Dec. 29
All dates are for the Eastern time zone. A Full Moon rises at sunset
and remains visible all night; a New Moon crosses the sky with the
Sun and can’t be seen.VENUS shines at dusk on the first few evenings of
- After vanishing in the Sun’s glare, it returns
to view before sunrise in mid-January. The inner
planet then remains a morning object until
September. Venus reaches greatest elongation
from the Sun in March, when it stands some
10° high in the southeast an hour before sunrise
and gleams at magnitude –4.5. NASA/JPL-CALTECH
MARS appears obvious before dawn in
early 2022, but it grows more prominent
each month as it brightens and climbs
higher. The Red Planet reaches
opposition in early December, when
it shines at magnitude –1.9 and
shows a disk 17" across when viewed
through a telescope. It then lies high
around midnight among the background
stars of Taurus. NASA/ESA/STSCIJUPITER always looks dramatic through a telescope.
Even small instruments show the planet’s four big
moons and resolve its dynamic atmosphere
into an alternating series of bright zones and
darker belts. Jupiter appears best around
opposition in late September, when it shines
brightest (magnitude –2.9) and looms
largest (50" across), though it’s a fine sight
from April through the end of the year. NASA/ESA/
A. SIMON (GSFC)/M. H. WONG (UC, BERKELEY)/THE OPAL TEAMSATURN provides a stunning attraction for
telescope owners from March through year’s
end. The ringed planet reaches its peak
in mid-August. It then shines at
magnitude 0.2 and its disk
measures 19" across, while
the rings span 43" and tilt
14° to our line of sight. NASA/
ESA/THE HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM (STSCI/AURA)Astronomy’s
2022
Guide to
the Night Sky
A supplement to Astronomy magazine
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Visit our website at http://www.Astronomy.com
THE MOON is Earth’s nearest
neighbor and the only celestial
object humans have visited.
Because of its changing position
relative to the Sun and Earth, the Moon
appears to go through phases, from a
slender crescent to Full Moon and back. The
best times to observe our satellite through a
telescope come a few days on either side of its
two Quarter phases. For the best detail, look
along the terminator — the line separating the
sunlit and dark parts. NASA/GSFC/ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY