Discover the Cosmos: Astronomical Phenomena 2027 Now Available!

July 11, 2025

Get ready for an awe-inspiring year under the stars in 2027! We are thrilled to announce that the New! Astronomical Phenomena for the Year 2027 publication is now available from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

This small, yet incredibly helpful booklet is a must-have for every skywatcher. It contains general interest material preprinted directly from The Astronomical Almanac, a definitive guide published jointly by the U.S. Naval Observatory and His Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office. Released two years in advance, it gives you a head start on planning your celestial observations.

The Astronomical Phenomena for the Year 2027 is packed with essential information, including:

  • Exact dates for Solar equinoxes, solstices, and phases of the Moon.
  • Detailed eclipse maps, so you can pinpoint the best viewing locations for these spectacular events.
  • Dates for various planetary phenomena, offering insights into when to spot your favorite planets.
  • Visibility and magnitudes of the planets, helping you identify them in the night sky.
  • Dates for some religious and civil holidays, for broader chronological context.
  • Chronological eras and cycles.
  • The equation of time and declination of the Sun.
  • Accurate sunrise/sunset and moonrise/sunset times to perfectly time your observations.
  • The precise position of Polaris, the dependable North Star.

The cosmos has an abundance in store for skywatchers in 2027! From dazzling meteor showers to captivating lunar and solar eclipses and intriguing planetary alignments, this publication provides the precise data you’ll need to mark your calendar. Get ready to witness the magic of events like annual meteor showers that streak across the night sky and the rare beauty of lunar eclipses, where the Moon is transformed by Earth’s shadow.

Be sure to secure your copy of the Astronomical Phenomena for the Year 2027 to ensure you have all the precise dates and times for these and many other celestial occurrences that will surprise and delight you throughout the year.

Happy stargazing!

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

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Click here to purchase Astronomical Phenomena For The Year 2027

Click here to purchase Nautical Almanac For The Year 2026

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publications and Information Sales Office.

Images and additional content provided by Government Book Talk Editor Trudy Hawkins. Trudy is the Senior Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Office supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (https://bookstore.gpo.gov).


Curious about the Cosmos in 2025? Explore the Astronomical Almanac

April 28, 2025

Calling all astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts! The Astronomical Almanac for the Year 2025 is now available from the U.S Government Bookstore.

The Astronomical Almanac contains a wide variety of both technical and general astronomical information. It is published jointly by the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office at the U.S. Naval Observatory and Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office in the UK, and contains data supplied by many scientists from around the world.

A brief overview of the data available within this yearly updated astronomical resource includes:

  • Phenomena – information on the seasons, phases of the Moon, configurations of the planets, eclipses, etc.                     
  • Time-Scales and Coordinate Systems – calendar information, relationships between time scales, universal, and, sidereal times, Earth rotation angle,
  • Sun – Moon – Planetsdetailed positional information,
  • Stars and Stellar Systemsmean places for bright stars, double stars, UBVRI standards,
  • Tables and DataJulian dates, selected astronomical constants, relations between time scales.

The Astronomical Almanac is an excellent resource for commercial and military travel. It helps ensure safer travel and further assists in navigation by air and sea.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publications and Information Sales Office.

Images and additional content provided by Government Book Talk Editor Trudy Hawkins. Trudy is the Senior Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Office supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (https://bookstore.gpo.gov).


Navigating by the Moon, Planets, and Stars

May 14, 2010

The Nautical Almanac is one of the longest-running publications in the Federal Government, dating back to 1852. It’s also one of the most distinctive-looking books I’ve ever seen.  The covers are orange and made of a stiff board-like material, and the cover graphics certainly look like they date back to 1852. Between those covers lie the complex mathematical tables that, “along with the chronometer, the sextant, a steady hand and a keen eye, are the resources needed to navigate by the stars.” Honestly, the contents mean less than nothing to a non-math person, but what images they conjure up for a history person! Old salts striding across a ship’s deck, sextant in hand, getting ready to round the Horn – well, you get the idea.

The Almanac is a unique example of a Government publication produced by two countries – the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) and Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HNMAO). Also unique is that the U.S. part of the Almanac is in the public domain, but the British part is under Crown Copyright.

The Nautical Almanac is one of a number of almanacs published by the U.S. Naval Observatory: the Astronomical Almanac, the Air Almanac, and Astronomical Phenomena. Together, they provide a corpus of navigational knowledge that spans the centuries but is still the ultimate backup to the GPS technology of today.

I wonder if they’ll ever change those orange covers?