2023 sky guide: 10 stunning events you can't miss this year

The first major meteor shower of the year peaks on January 3-4. Watch for bright fireballs, which the Quadrantids are known to produce.

Earth will be its shortest distance from the Sun on January 4, the point known as perihelion. The Sun will look slightly larger than at aphelion, when Earth is farthest from the Sun (July 6).

This extremely rare event will be visible on April 20 to skywatchers in Australia and southeast Asia. A hybrid eclipse morphs from a partial to a total eclipse as it happens.

June 21 will be the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere. Things flip-flop on December 21, when the north sees its shortest day.

Not only will a brilliant supermoon light up the sky on August 1, but we’ll see a second supermoon on August 31. The phenomenon where a second Full Moon appears in a single month is called a Blue Moon.

On October 14, an annular eclipse will take place over North, Central, and South America. The Moon will appear small as it passes over the Sun, carving out a ring-shaped sliver of light.

Like the Perseids, the 2023 Geminids will also fall around a new Moon. Dark skies will make for spectacular viewing conditions during the shower’s peak on December 13.