During a penumbral eclipse, very observant people in the right spot on Earth will look up and notice a dark shading on the moon’s face. Others will look and notice nothing at all.

A solar eclipse can happen only at new moon. A lunar eclipse can happen only at full moon. Additionally – for an eclipse to occur – the new moon or full moon has to take place within an eclipse season.

The longest lunar month in 2020 starts with the new moon on February 23, and concludes with the new moon on March 24. Its duration will be 29 days 17 hours and 56 minutes.

In January 2020, dazzling Venus lights up the early evening sky. Moderately-bright red Mars comes up before dawn. Late in the month, you might catch elusive Mercury at dusk and giant Jupiter at dawn. Ringed Saturn hides in the sun’s glare all month.

The moon will swing to its farthest from Earth for 2020 on March 24, and then comes closest to Earth about 2 weeks later, on April 7.

The sun in our sky moved in front of the constellation Sagittarius on December 18, 2019. It’ll move in front of the constellation Capricornus on January 20. Click here for sun-entry dates to zodiac constellations in 2020, using boundaries for constellations set by the International Astronomical Union in the 1930s.

Dog Star Sirius reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight every New Year’s Eve. For this reason, it might also be called the New Year’s star.

The annular solar eclipse on December 26, 2019, happened some 4 days before the middle of the eclipse season, which came to pass on December 30, 2019.