Guide to the night sky over Alabama in 2022

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - There won’t be any shortage of cool astronomical events to check out this year. From a dozen full moons to a pair of total lunar eclipses to plenty of meteor showers, there will be plenty to see in Alabama’s night sky in 2022.

Every month will feature a full moon, each with a nifty nickname. The most commonly used nicknames are shown below, including January’s Wolf Moon, April’s Pink Moon and November’s Beaver Moon.

But most full moons have more than one nickname depending on who you ask. A full list and explanation of why each moon gets its name can be found by clicking here.

Four of the full moons we see this year will be even more special than they already are.

The May and November full moons will be be accompanied by total lunar eclipses, and the June and July full moons will actually be supermoons!

The total lunar eclipse in May will be visible in its entirety here in Alabama and across the United States. The one on November 8th will be close to fully visible for us.

Both supermoons will be visible depending on how Mother Nature behaves those nights. A supermoon means the moon appears slightly brighter and larger than your average full moon!

Then there’s the meteor showers of 2022...

As is the case every year, there will be plenty of shooting stars to go around in Alabama’s night sky in 2022. April will kick off the meteor shower party with the Lyrids peaking on April 21st and 22nd.

May will bring us one meteor shower early in the month before one of the best of year peaks in mid-August -- the Perseids.

Then we have the end of the year, which will bring six meteor showers in just over two months. October, November and December are always known for producing quite the shooting star display!

For more information on this year’s astronomical and celestial events, check out this link.

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