Astronomical events of the Solar System

A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries, the seasons of the year are defined by reference to the solstices and the equinoxes.

hypothetical large planet in the far outer Solar System

celestial event caused by streams of meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere

temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary medium

hypothesized event, occurring ca. 4.1–3.8 billion years ago, during which a large number of asteroids collided with the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

the equinox on the earth when the Sun appears to leave the southern hemisphere and cross the celestial equator

the equinox on the earth when the Sun appears to leave the nothern hemisphere and cross the celestial equator

Manhattanhenge, also called the Manhattan Solstice, is an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claims to have coined the term, by analogy with Stonehenge. The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice. The sunset alignments occur around May 28 and July 13. The sunrise alignments occur around December 5 and January 8.

solstice that occurs each December (winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere and summer solstice in Southern Hemisphere)

solstice that occurs each June (summer solstice in Northern Hemisphere and winter solstice in Southern Hemisphere)

thumb|The Moon and [[Venus in the evening sky on three consecutive days. The centre image shows an appulse between the two objects.]]

numerical model of the early Solar System

falling of meteors