12 Must-See Skywatching Events in 2012 | 2012 Skywatching Events Guide & 2012 Venus Transit | Amateur Astronomy

Venus Transit CREDIT:

This story was updated on Jan. 2.

As the year 2011 comes to a close, some might wonder what is looming sky-wise for 2012? What celestial events might we look forward to seeing? 

I've selected what I consider to be the top 12 "skylights" for this coming year, and list them here in chronological order. Not all these events will be visible from any one locality … for the eclipses, for instance, you'll probably have to do some traveling … but many can be observed from the comfort of your backyard.

Hopefully your local weather will cooperate on most, if not all, of these dates. Clear skies! [...]

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This story was updated to include the correct date of the next Venus transit of the sun, which occurs in 2117.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

See the list at space.com

It's 11 now 'cause the Quadrantids peaked last night, but still, lotsa cool stuff to see this year. :)

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