2027 brings a six-minute total solar eclipse and Mars at its brightest until 2029
- August 2: total solar eclipse. The longest totality on land this century until 2114: 6 minutes 23 seconds near Luxor, Egypt. The path crosses southern Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Not visible from the US. Solar eclipses
- February 19: Mars at opposition. Mars is up all night at magnitude -1.2 and 13.8″ across, in Leo. Jupiter reaches opposition the week before, so both are in the evening sky together. Mars
- Meteor showers: a dark-sky year for the Quadrantids and Eta Aquariids, a bright-Moon year for the Perseids and Geminids. The Perseids peak under an 84% Moon and the Geminids at full Moon, so only the brightest meteors will show.
- November 25: Venus and Mars 0.3° apart in the evening sky, close enough to share a telescope field.
- February 6: annular solar eclipse across Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and West Africa.
Meteor showers in 2027: which peaks fall on dark nights
A meteor shower's hourly rate (the ZHR) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead; a bright Moon can cut what you see by half or more. The table rates each peak by the Moon's phase.
| Shower | Peak | ZHR | Parent body | Moon lit | Viewing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | Jan 3 | 80 | asteroid 2003 EH1 | 14% | good |
| Lyrids | Apr 22 | 18 | comet Thatcher | 96% | poor |
| Eta Aquariids | May 6 | 50 | Halley's Comet | 0% | good |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | Jul 31 | 25 | comet 96P/Machholz | 6% | good |
| Perseids | Aug 12 | 100 | comet Swift-Tuttle | 84% | poor |
| Draconids | Oct 8 | 10 | comet Giacobini-Zinner | 63% | fair |
| Orionids | Oct 21 | 20 | Halley's Comet | 62% | fair |
| Southern Taurids | Nov 5 | 7 | comet Encke | 44% | fair |
| Northern Taurids | Nov 12 | 5 | comet Encke | 97% | poor |
| Leonids | Nov 17 | 15 | comet Tempel-Tuttle | 83% | poor |
| Geminids | Dec 14 | 150 | asteroid 3200 Phaethon | 99% | poor |
| Ursids | Dec 22 | 10 | comet Tuttle | 25% | good |
Peak dates are computed from each shower's solar longitude (IMO); times can shift by a day. Watch from midnight to dawn, when your side of Earth faces into the stream.
January 2027: Venus at greatest morning elongation, the Quadrantids and a supermoon
- Jan 3 Earth at perihelion, closest to the Sun (147.1 million km)
- Jan 3 Venus at greatest elongation, 47° from the Sun: best morning view
- Jan 3 Quadrantids meteor shower peaks: up to 80 meteors an hour, from asteroid 2003 EH1; Moon 14% lit, good viewing
- Jan 7 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Jan 22 Full Moon, the Wolf Moon, a supermoon
- Jan 24 Moon 1.4° from Jupiter
February 2027: Annular solar eclipse and Jupiter and Mars at opposition
- Feb 3 Mercury at greatest elongation, 18° from the Sun: best evening view
- Feb 6 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Feb 6 Annular solar eclipse, 7m51s at greatest eclipse: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil coast, South Atlantic, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria. US: Not visible from the US.
- Feb 10 Comet 2P/Encke at perihelion; best in binoculars in mid-January before it is lost in twilight
- Feb 11 Jupiter at opposition (magnitude -2.6): Jupiter and its moons at their best
- Feb 19 Mars at opposition (magnitude -1.2): closest and brightest until 2029
- Feb 20 Moon 1.3° from Jupiter
- Feb 20 Penumbral lunar eclipse: Night side of Earth: Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia. US: Moon rises during the eclipse in the East, the central US and the West; not visible from Alaska and Hawaii.
- Feb 20 Full Moon, the Snow Moon
March 2027: Messier Marathon weekend and the March equinox
- Mar 6 Messier Marathon weekend: new Moon on March 8 gives dark skies from dusk to dawn (backup: April 3)
- Mar 8 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Mar 17 Mercury at greatest elongation, 28° from the Sun: best morning view
- Mar 19 Moon 0.9° from Jupiter
- Mar 20 March equinox: spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere (20:24 UTC)
- Mar 22 Full Moon, the Worm Moon
April 2027: The Lyrids
- Apr 6 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Apr 15 Moon 1.0° from Jupiter
- Apr 20 Full Moon, the Pink Moon
- Apr 22 Lyrids meteor shower peaks: up to 18 meteors an hour, from comet Thatcher; Moon 96% lit, poor viewing
May 2027: The Eta Aquariids and Venus and Saturn 0.7° apart
- May 6 Eta Aquariids meteor shower peaks: up to 50 meteors an hour, from Halley's Comet; Moon 0% lit, good viewing
- May 6 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- May 8 Venus and Saturn 0.7° apart
- May 12 Moon 1.3° from Jupiter
- May 20 Full Moon, the Flower Moon
- May 28 Mercury at greatest elongation, 23° from the Sun: best evening view
June 2027: The June solstice
- Jun 4 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Jun 19 Full Moon, the Strawberry Moon
- Jun 21 June solstice: longest day in the Northern Hemisphere (14:10 UTC)
July 2027: Earth at aphelion and the Southern Delta Aquariids
- Jul 4 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Jul 5 Earth at aphelion, farthest from the Sun (152.1 million km)
- Jul 15 Mercury at greatest elongation, 21° from the Sun: best morning view
- Jul 18 Full Moon, the Buck Moon
- Jul 18 Penumbral lunar eclipse: Night side of Earth: eastern Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific. US: Moon sets during the eclipse in Hawaii; not visible from the East, the central US, the West and Alaska.
- Jul 31 Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks: up to 25 meteors an hour, from comet 96P/Machholz; Moon 6% lit, good viewing
August 2027: Total solar eclipse and the Perseids
- Aug 2 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Aug 2 Total solar eclipse, 6m23s at greatest eclipse: Strait of Gibraltar (southern Spain, Gibraltar), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia. US: Not visible from the US.
- Aug 12 Perseids meteor shower peaks: up to 100 meteors an hour, from comet Swift-Tuttle; Moon 84% lit, poor viewing
- Aug 17 Penumbral lunar eclipse: Night side of Earth: Pacific, Americas. US: All of the eclipse visible from the East, the central US, the West and Hawaii; Moon rises during the eclipse in Alaska.
- Aug 17 Full Moon, the Sturgeon Moon
- Aug 31 Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková at perihelion; forecasts range from magnitude 5 to 8.5
- Aug 31 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
September 2027: The Harvest Moon, the September equinox and Neptune at opposition
- Sep 15 Full Moon, the Harvest Moon
- Sep 23 September equinox: autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere (06:01 UTC)
- Sep 24 Mercury at greatest elongation, 26° from the Sun: best evening view
- Sep 25 Comet 255P/Levy at perihelion, forecast about magnitude 9 (binoculars)
- Sep 28 Neptune at opposition (magnitude +7.8), binoculars needed
- Sep 30 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
October 2027: Saturn at opposition
- Oct 8 Draconids meteor shower peaks: up to 10 meteors an hour, from comet Giacobini-Zinner; Moon 63% lit, fair viewing
- Oct 15 Full Moon, the Hunter's Moon
- Oct 18 Saturn at opposition (magnitude -0.1): Saturn and its rings at their best
- Oct 21 Orionids meteor shower peaks: up to 20 meteors an hour, from Halley's Comet; Moon 62% lit, fair viewing
- Oct 29 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
November 2027: Venus and Mars 0.3° apart
- Nov 4 Mercury at greatest elongation, 19° from the Sun: best morning view
- Nov 5 Southern Taurids meteor shower peaks: up to 7 meteors an hour, from comet Encke; Moon 44% lit, fair viewing
- Nov 12 Northern Taurids meteor shower peaks: up to 5 meteors an hour, from comet Encke; Moon 97% lit, poor viewing
- Nov 14 Full Moon, the Beaver Moon
- Nov 17 Leonids meteor shower peaks: up to 15 meteors an hour, from comet Tempel-Tuttle; Moon 83% lit, poor viewing
- Nov 25 Venus and Mars 0.3° apart
- Nov 28 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Nov 30 Moon 1.6° from Mars
- Nov 30 Uranus at opposition (magnitude +5.6), just visible to the naked eye under dark skies
- Nov 30 Moon 1.1° from Venus
December 2027: The Geminids
- Dec 13 Full Moon, the Cold Moon
- Dec 14 Geminids meteor shower peaks: up to 150 meteors an hour, from asteroid 3200 Phaethon; Moon 99% lit, poor viewing
- Dec 22 December solstice: shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere (02:42 UTC)
- Dec 22 Ursids meteor shower peaks: up to 10 meteors an hour, from comet Tuttle; Moon 25% lit, good viewing
- Dec 27 New Moon: darkest skies of the month
- Dec 29 Moon 0.5° from Mars
Every date here is computed, not copied
Moon phases, seasons, oppositions, elongations and planet pairings are computed with Astronomy Engine, which follows the VSOP87 planetary theory and the US Naval Observatory's NOVAS models, accurate to about a minute. Eclipses come from NASA's eclipse catalog by Fred Espenak, and meteor rates from the International Meteor Organization's calendar. Dates are in Universal Time (UTC); for US time zones, events after about 05:00 UTC fall on the evening before.