Get ready to mark your calendars and clean your favorite pair of binoculars. 2023 is set to be an impressive year when it comes to viewing the night sky here in New Mexico. Annual meteor showers, eclipses, and more will light up your skies - and your life - next year. Which ones do you look forward to most?

1. Quadrantids Meteor Shower, January 3rd

The Quandrantids is a fascinating, above-average meteor shower that doesn't usually get the love it deserves. You can expect to see up to 40 meteors streaking across the sky per hour. It runs every year from January 1st to January 5th, but it peaks on the night of the 3rd. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, but they'll be visible all over the sky.

2. Lyrids meteor shower, April 22

During the second annual meteor shower of the year, you can expect to see a meteor shoot across the sky every three minutes. There will be just thin sliver of a crescent moon this night, so you'll have a few hours before bedtime to watch the light show.

3. Eta Aquarids meteor shower, May 6

This early summer meteor shower will appear even more dramatic than its spring predecessor, where you can expect to spot an average of a meteor every other minute at its peak. The best viewing time for this shower is just after midnight near the Aquarius constellation but you can see the meteors from any part of the sky that night.

4. Delta Aquarids meteor shower, July 28

Much like April's Lyrids meteor shower, you can expect to see a meteor every three minutes during this shower. The moon will be nearly full that evening, so you may have a limited amount of time to get the best view of the meteors streaming across a dark sky. However, the effort is still worth the view so set aside a little time that evening to watch the meteor shower.

5. Perseids meteor shower, August 12

Just a couple weeks after the Delta meteor shower, you'll be treated to the impressive Perseids shower. During this, you can expect to spot a meteor per minute, many appearing bright and showy across the sky. Skies this year should be just about dark enough for a really good view of the shower - cloud cover depending.

6. Orionids meteor shower, October 21

This meteor shower will take place during a quarter moon, but you can still catch a view of meteors flitting across the sky on its peak night after midnight, when the moon sets. Find a dark location with little light pollution and you can expect to see an average of one meteor every three minutes.

7. Geminids meteor shower, December 13

Finish off the year with one of the most impressive meteor showers to brighten up our skies. At its peak, you can expect to see upwards of a hundred or more meteors shoot across the sky each hour. Perhaps the best news of all: it's a new moon at this time, so the skies will be nice and dark - perfect for an amazing show.

Those are some impressive sights to see this year! For the best views of those night shows, you'll want to pay a visit to some of New Mexico's darkest places that have little to no light pollution. Read about our suggestions in These Are Some Of The Darkest Places In New Mexico And You’ll Want To Visit.