January 5: Earth at perihelion, closest point to the Sun
January 8: Latest Sunrise
January 10-11: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Wisconsin, most of North America)
January 25: Chinese New Year—Year of the Rat
February 18: Moon & Mars very close morning sky (Moon will occult, or cover, Mars for part of N. America)
February 29: Leap Day
March 8: Spring ahead! Daylight Saving Time begins
March 14: Pi Day and Einstein’s Birthday
March 18: 55th Anniversary of First Spacewalk—Russia’s Alexi Leonov
March 19: Spring begins at 10:50 p.m. CDT
March 20: Mars & Jupiter close in morning sky
March 24: Venus highest in evening sky, greatest elongation from the Sun
March 31: Mars & Saturn close in morning sky
April 2-3: Venus & Pleiades star cluster
April 7: Biggest Full Moon of 2020 (Also called Supermoon)
April 11-17: 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13
April 22: 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
April 24: 30th Anniversary of Hubble Space Telescope
May 1: Venus sets four hours after sunset
May 21-23: Venus & Mercury close in evening sky
May 31: Venus sets 30 minutes after sunset
June 3: Venus at inferior conjunction—between Earth & Sun; 55th Anniversary of First American Spacewalk—Ed White
June 5-6: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Wisconsin, North America)
June 17: Earliest Sunrise
June 18: Mars & Mercury—very close in evening sky
June 20: Summer Solstice starts at 4:44 a.m. CDT
June 21: Annular Solar Eclipse: Africa, India, Asia
June 27: Latest Sunset
July: OSIRIS-Rex mission to Asteroid Bennu—sample collection (Returns to Earth 2023); ESA ExoMars Mission 2020 Launch (Rover lands February 2021); United Arab Emirates Mars Mission (Hope) Launch (Orbiter Science to start May 2021)
July 4: Earth at aphelion, the farthest point from the Sun
July 4-5: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Not visible in Wisconsin, North America)
July 13: Jupiter at opposition, opposite the Sun, up all night
July 17: NASA Mars 2020 Rover Launch (Lands February 18, 2021)
July 20: Saturn at opposition
July 30: 410 years ago, Astronomer Galileo Galilei observes Saturn's Rings
August 11-13: Perseid meteor shower peaks
August 13: Venus highest in morning sky, greatest elongation from the Sun
September 11: Neptune at opposition
September 22: Fall arrives with the autumnal equinox at 2:50 a.m. CDT
October 6: Mars closest to Earth (magnitude of -2.6, brighter than Jupiter, 3 times brighter than Sirius)
October 13: Mars at opposition
October 30: Uranus at opposition
November 2: 20th Anniversary of International Space Station (ISS) continuously occupied.
November 3: Fall back! Daylight Savings Time ends
November 30: Penumbral Eclipse of Moon—barely noticeable—1:32 a.m. to 5:53 a.m. CST.
December: Hayabusa 2—Japanese asteroid sample returns to Earth; Launch of China’s Chang’e 5, Lunar Sample Return Mission
December 2: 25th Anniversary Launch of SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) (still working)
December 7: Earliest Sunset
December 12-14: Geminid meteor shower peaks
December 14: Total Solar Eclipse—Chile & Argentina
December 21: Jupiter & Saturn Great Conjunction--evening sky (their closest approach since 1623!); Winter Solstice starts at 4:02 a.m. CST