Out of this world 💫

The 2023 celestial calendar for Lexington, KY

There will be plenty of action in the night sky this year. | Photo via Pexels

Calling all stargazers. We’ve put together a handy guide of this year’s celestial events so you won’t miss a thing. Grab your calendar, mark down these dates, and start planning your 2023 night sky viewing adventures.

💫 Meteor showers

If you missed the Quadrantid meteor shower on January 3 and 4, fear not — there will be plenty more showers to catch this year. Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

Lyrids: April 22-23
Eta Aquarids: May 6-7
Delta Aquarids: July 28-29
Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31
Perseids: August 12-13
Draconids: October 7
Orionids: October 21-22
Southern Taurids: November 4-5
Northern Taurids: November 11-12
Leonids: November 17-18
Geminids: December 13- 14
Ursids: December 21-22

Psst — watch out for a comet on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 1. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will approach Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 will host a livestream beginning on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 11 p.m.

LexSky_moon — Lexington’s skyline looks so dreamy when accented by a full moon. | Photo by @jeffrogersphoto

🌕 Full moons and supermoons

It may technically be the Year of the Water Rabbit, but it’s also the moon’s year to shine. While most years there are 12 full moons, 2023 will welcome 13 (two will occur in August). Here’s the full list, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

February 5: Snow moon
March 7: Worm moon
April 6: Pink moon
May 5: Flower moon
June 3: Strawberry moon
July 3: Buck moon
August 1: Sturgeon moon
August 30: Blue moon
September. 29: Harvest moon
October 28: Hunter’s moon
November 27: Beaver moon
December 26: Cold moon

📍 Where to go

When choosing a spot to view celestial events, aim for a location that is away from man-made light. Here are some spots that we suggest:

MORE CELESTIAL EVENTS

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Wednesday, Jan. 11

Tracking Down Nature | Wednesday, Jan. 11 | 3:30-4:30 p.m. | McConnell Springs, 416 Rebmann Ln., Lexington | Free | Learn all about animal tracks, trails, habits, and habitats of Central Kentucky’s wildlife.
Bullet Journals for the New Year Part 1 | Wednesday, Jan. 11 | 5-6:30 p.m. | Eastside Branch, 3000 Blake James Dr., Lexington | Free | This two-part series will help you with your organizational goals by creating your own notebooks and teaching the art of bullet journaling.

Thursday, Jan. 12

Sound Off! Music Trivia | Thursday, Jan. 12 | 7-9 p.m. | Pivot Brewing, 1400 Delaware Ave., Lexington | Free | Gather your musically-minded friends to test your knowledge and try to name that tune.

Friday, Jan. 13

Planetarium Show: Two Small Pieces of Glass | Friday, Jan. 13 | 4 p.m. | Living Arts & Science Center, 362 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lexington | $5 | Take a look back at the history of telescopes and how we observe the universe beyond our planet in the Farish Planetarium.

Saturday, Jan. 14

Concert for Unity | Saturday, Jan. 14 | 7 p.m. | Immanuel Baptist Church, 3100 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington | Free | This concert will feature the inspiring sounds of Voice of Chicago and young singers from around the Bluegrass region.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

What’s your best pickup line?

Do you think you have the best local pickup line? | Graphic by 6AM City

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’ve got love on the brain.

To usher in the month of love, we want to hear the best pickup lines in the city. The pickup line must include the name of our beloved city, something that our city is known for, or a local landmark. It can be so sweet that it almost gives us a cavity.

We’ll use these pickup lines for something fun soon — keep your (heart) eyes peeled. 😍

So, let’s hear it…

DROP YOUR BEST LINE

Weather

56º | Showers | 46% chance of rain

Civic

The Lex End Homelessness Continuum of Care is seeking volunteers for the 2023 LexCount on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help count the number of individuals identified as being without shelter, distribute care packages, and facilitate access to emergency shelter. Sign up to help out.

Lexingtonian

Check it out — local artist Robert Beatty recently created an illustration that was featured in Bloomberg Businessweek. The graphic illustration can be seen in “Who Owns the Content AI Creates?” and depicts two hands drawing one another simultaneously.

Legacy

The late UK basketball player and longtime radio analyst Mike Pratt will be honored at the UK men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 4. UK Athletics will retire Mike’s jersey, making it the 45th retired jersey to hang in the rafters of Rupp Arena. Attend the game. 🏀 (UK Athletics)

Active

Join the North Lexington YMCA for the Philip Cullen Memorial Indoor Triathlon on Sunday, Feb. 12. Registration is open for individuals or teams, and all levels of athletes are encouraged to compete. 👟

Try This

Lexington-based artist Kayla Weber Nord is headed to Italy, and you’re invited. Join her from September 9-16 in Florence for a week of creativity, painting, cooking classes, wine tours, and guided sightseeing. Learn more about the trip and sign up.

Eat

Looking to add some new dinner recipes to your 2023 rotation? We’re bookmarking this sun-dried tomato gnocchi, this Thai pulled pork, and these salmon burgers. 🍳*

Finance

This Princeton grad’s startup raised $161 million to help people plan for retirement — and its free tool can match you with up to three vetted financial advisors serving your area who can help you work towards financial freedom. Try it out for yourself. 💸 *

Content marked with an * is brought to you by our advertising partners and helps make this newsletter free.

Safe and sound 🔐

Lexington ranks No. 146 safest US city

No matter what your interest or skillset, there’s a way you can help improve the Bluegrass. | Photo by LEXtoday

Lexington ranked No. 146 on WalletHub’s list of safest cities in America.

For this study, WalletHub compared 180+ cities across 42 key indicators that were grouped into three categories — home and community safety, risk of natural disaster, and financial safety.

The cities were ranked in each category and then given an overall safety score. Some of the indicators included percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, active law officers and first responders per capita, earthquake risk level, flood risk level, unemployment rate, job security, and debt-to-income ratio.

Here’s how Lexington stacked up across the board:

Overall safety score: 68.09
Home and community safety ranking: 76
Risk of natural disaster ranking: Data not available
Financial safety ranking: 52

Wanna see what other cities made the list? Read it here.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Emily.

Editor’s pick: I don’t know about you, but a trip to Italy to learn about painting and wine sounds pretty nice right about now. If you end up booking a spot, just make sure there is enough room in your checked bag so that I can join too.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Read our guide to finding mocktails in Lexington, here.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Molly Thompson, Britt Thorson, Emily Shea, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Dayten Rose, Sarah Leonhardt, Katie Smith | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Marin Fiske | Advertise with us.

Content marked with an * was created in partnership with 6AM City’s advertising partners. Paid content helps keep this newsletter free. 6AM City may also receive a commission on purchases made through affiliate links in this newsletter.

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