User:Rehman/Celestial Calendar for Sri Lanka

Photograph of Mars taken with Nikon P900 (83x optical zoom) on 8 October 2020, a day after opposition.

Jupiter and the Great Red Spot (visible on the lower right), with Ganymede (immediately on the upper right) casting its shadow on Jupiter. The other moons are Europa (further right), Io (first on left), and Callisto (furthest on left). Photo taken with Nikon P900 on 24 July 2020, ten days after opposition.

Photograph of Saturn taken with Nikon P900 (83x optical zoom) on 23 July 2020, two days after opposition.

Lunar eclipse. 2020-01-11.

"Ring of fire" eclipse. 2019-12-26.

Jupiter, with Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa. 2019-06-16.

Jupiter and cloud bands. 2019-06-16.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. 2017-11-17.

Impossible shot of Saturn with a 42x zoom camera. 2015-03-14.

I use this page to keep track of celestial events visible from my hometown, mainly for the purpose of photography and casual observation. On the right are some of my photographs of past events (more updated here). Considering the usefulness of this page, it may be shared externally, while keeping in mind that this page wasn't created with that in mind.

2020

Planetary events and celestial observations

Type	Object 1	Object 2	Date	Peak observation time (Colombo)	Notes
Perihelion	Earth	Sun	2020-01-05	13:17	147,091,144 km
Perigee	Moon	Earth	2020-01-14	01:50	365,958 km
Perigee	Moon	Earth	2020-02-11	01:57	360,461 km
Conjunction	Mars	Moon	2020-02-19	03:00-Sunrise	Mars/Moon/Jupiter/Saturn/Horizon
Conjunction	Jupiter	Moon	2020-02-20	04:00-Sunrise
Conjunction	Mars	Moon	2020-03-18	02:30-Sunrise	Moon/Mars/Jupiter/Saturn/Horizon
Conjunction	Jupiter	Mars	2020-03-20	02:10-Sunrise
March equinox	Earth	Sun	2020-03-20	09:19
Micro New Moon/Apogee	Moon	Earth	2020-03-24	14:58/20:53	406,692 km - Furthest of 2020. Not visible.
Conjunction	Mars	Saturn	2020-03-31	02:30-Sunrise
Conjunction	Mars	Saturn	2020-03-31	02:30-Sunrise
Perigee/Super Full Moon	Moon	Earth	2020-04-07	23:38/08:05	356,906 km - Closest of 2020
Comet perihelion	C/2020 F8	Sun	2020-05-27	-	Closest approach to Earth on 2020-05-12.
Comet perihelion	C/2019 Y4	Sun	2020-05-31	-	Closest approach to Earth on 2020-05-23.
Penumbral lunar eclipse	Moon	Sun	2020-06-06	23:15-(00:54)-02:34	Track
Conjunction	Moon	Venus	2020-06-19	04:30-Sunrise
June solstice	Earth	Sun	2020-06-21	03:13
Partial solar eclipse	Sun	Moon	2020-06-21	10:29-(11:51)-13:19	Track
Comet perihelion	C/2020 F3	Sun	2020-07-03	2020-07-23	Closest approach to Earth on 2020-07-23 (103 million km)
Aphelion	Earth	Sun	2020-07-04	17:04	152,095,295 km
Apogee	Moon	Earth	2020-07-13	00:56	404,199 km
Opposition	Jupiter	Sun	2020-07-14	+/- 1 day
Opposition	Saturn	Sun	2020-07-21	+/- 1 day
Apogee	Moon	Earth	2020-08-09	19:20	404,659 km. After moonrise (~23:00).
Conjunction	Moon	Mars	2020-08-09	2020-08-08 22:30 - 2020-08-09 Sunrise
Conjunction	Moon	Mars	2020-08-19	22:30-Sunrise
Conjunction	Moon	Mars	2020-09-06	2020-09-05 21:00 - 2020-09-06 Sunrise
September equinox	Earth	Sun	2020-09-22	19:00
Micro Full Moon/Apogee	Moon	Earth	2020-10-03	02:35/22:52	406,321 km
Conjunction	Moon	Mars	2020-10-03	2020-10-02 21:00 - 2020-10-03 Sunrise
Opposition	Mars	Sun	2020-10-13	+/- 1 week	Closest approach to Earth on 7th at 01:00 (62,064,000 km).
Apogee/Micro Full Moon	Moon	Earth	2020-10-31	00:15/20:19	406,394 km
Opposition	Uranus	Sun	2020-10-31	+/- 1 day	Magnitude ~5.66
Perigee	Moon	Earth	2020-12-13	02:11	361,773 km. Briefly between moonrise/sunrise, with Venus.
December solstice	Earth	Sun	2020-12-21	15:32
Apogee	Moon	Earth	2020-12-24	22:01	405,012 km

Notable meteor showers

Event	Start	Peak				End	Notes
		Date	Time	Origin	ZHR
Quadrantids (moonless)	2019-12-28	2020-01-04	02:00 - Sunrise	NE	60-200	2020-01-12
Lyrids (moonless)	2020-04-16	2020-04-22	2020-04-22 22:00 - 2020-04-23 Sunrise	NE	0-90	2020-04-25
Eta Aquariids	2020-04-19	2020-05-06	02:00 - Sunrise	E	50	2020-05-28
Arietids	2020-05-22	2020-06-08	04:00 - Sunrise	NE-E	30	2020-06-24
Tau Herculids	2020-05-19	2020-06-10	2020-06-10 Sunset - 2020-06-11 04:00	NE-NW	1-72	2020-06-19
Perseids	2020-07-17	2020-08-13	00:00 - Sunrise	N-NE	110	2020-08-24
Alpha Monocerotids	2020-11-15	2020-11-22	2020-11-21 23:00 - 2020-11-22 Sunrise	E - Oh	5-400	2020-11-25
Phoenicids (moonless)	2020-11-28	2020-12-07	2020-12-07 20:00 - 2020-12-08 01:00	S - SW	0-100	2020-12-09
Geminids (moonless)	2020-12-04	2020-12-15	2020-12-14 21:00 - 2020-12-15 Sunrise	NE-NW	150	2020-12-17

2021

Planetary events and celestial observations

Type	Object 1	Object 2	Date	Peak observation time (Colombo)	Notes
Perihelion	Earth	Sun	2021-01-02	19:20	147,093,163 km
Perigee	Moon	Earth	2021-02-04	00:32	370,116 km.
March equinox	Earth	Sun	2021-03-20	15:07
Occultation	Mars	Moon	2021-04-17	18:00 - 19:35	-
Super Full Moon/Perigee	Moon	Earth	2021-04-27	09:01/20:52	357,378 km. Visible before 05:00 or after 19:00.
Micro New Moon/Apogee	Moon	Earth	2021-05-12	00:29/03:23	406,512 km - Furthest of 2021. Not visible.
Penumbral lunar eclipse	Moon	Earth	2021-05-26	18:26	Visible at moonrise, 18:26 to 19:19.
June solstice	Earth	Sun	2021-06-21	09:02
Aphelion	Earth	Sun	2021-07-06	03:57	152,100,527 km
Conjunction	Mars	Venus	2021-07-13	Sunset-[19:11]-20:15
Opposition	Saturn	Sun	2021-08-02	Sunset 2021-08-01 - Sunrise 2021-08-02	-
September equinox	Earth	Sun	2021-09-23	00:51
Apogee	Moon	Earth	2021-09-27	03:13	404,640 km.
Apogee	Moon	Earth	2021-10-24	20:58	405,615 km.
Conjunction	Mars	Moon	2021-12-03	Moonrise-[04:56]-Sunrise
Super New Moon/Perigee	Moon	Earth	2021-12-04	13:13/15:33	356,794 km - Closest of 2021. Visible next to the Sun.
December solstice	Earth	Sun	2021-12-21	21:29

Notable meteor showers

Event	Start	Peak				End	Notes
		Date	Time	Direction	ZHR
Quadrantids	2020-12-28	2021-01-05	02:00 - Sunrise	NE	60-200	2021-01-12
Lyrids (moonless)	2021-04-16	2021-04-22	2021-04-22 22:00 - 2020-04-23 Sunrise	NE	0-90	2021-04-25
Eta Aquariids	2021-04-19	2021-05-07	02:00 - Sunrise	E	40-85	2021-05-28
Tau Herculids	2021-05-19	2021-06-10	2021-06-10 Sunset - 2020-06-11 04:00	NE-NW	1-72	2021-06-19
Perseids (moonless)	2021-07-17	2021-08-14	00:00 - Sunrise	N-NE	110	2021-08-24
Draconids (moonless)	2021-10-06	2021-10-09	Sunset - 22:00	NW	20-700	2021-10-10
Alpha Monocerotids	2021-11-15	2021-11-22	2021-11-21 23:00 - 2020-11-22 Sunrise	E - Oh	5-400	2021-11-25
Phoenicids (moonless)	2021-11-28	2021-12-07	2021-12-07 20:00 - 2020-12-08 01:00	S - SW	0-100	2021-12-09
Geminids	2021-12-04	2021-12-15	2021-12-14 21:00 - 2020-12-15 Sunrise	NE-NW	120	2021-12-17