202 1 ten spectacular astronomical phenomena

By Andrew fazekas.

Despite the blockade and social distance in 2020, the striking sky in the night sky gives us a lot of comfort. The astronomical calendar in 2020 is full of unforgettable scenes, such as the bright "new wisdom" comet, the best scene of Mars in the past decade, the blue moon on Halloween, and the long-awaited harmony between wood and soil.

The fascinating astronomical phenomena in 202 1 are also newly released. Below, we have selected 10 astronomical phenomena, which are worth highlighting in the calendar of the New Year.

On February 1 1, Venus meets Jupiter.

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the night sky, will meet at close range. These two planets are bright spots to the naked eye, but if you use binoculars, you can see them at the same time. As an extra surprise, Saturn will walk slowly on the upper right of the pair of planets.

Be sure to choose the observation site in advance: it is best not to block the horizon in the southeast, because this conjunction occurs around sunrise, and the timing of watching them is very important! The trick is to make the two planets rise high enough to be seen, and the morning light has not "flooded" your vision. The best time to enjoy them is twenty or thirty minutes before sunrise. People in the southern hemisphere will have the best chance to enjoy it, because they are far away from the sun in the sky, so they will rise to a higher position.

March 9-10: four "stars" Julian

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

In the early morning of these two days, in the southeast, four bright celestial bodies will welcome sky observers from all over the world. Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn will be arranged in a nearly perfect straight line, and the nearby new moon will frame the three planets. Every planet will be a bright spot, of which Mercury is the darkest and Jupiter is the brightest, which is easy to see with the naked eye.

With binoculars, sky watchers can see the four largest moons of Jupiter, while with small binoculars, they can see the rings of the earth's stars. Because of the relative position of the earth with mercury and the sun, Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system, will only show us half its face. Therefore, from a telescope, Mercury looks like a shrinking new moon.

May 26th: Total eclipse of the "Red Moon"

People in East Asia, North America, western South America and Australia can see the red moon in the total lunar eclipse.

When the sun, the earth and the moon are in a straight line and the shadow of the earth completely covers the moon, there will be a spectacular astronomical phenomenon of total lunar eclipse.

During the solar eclipse, sunlight will be refracted when it passes through the dusty atmosphere of the earth, and it will be deflected to the red part of the spectrum and projected onto the surface of the moon. Therefore, the moon will change from dark gray during the penumbral eclipse to orange-red during the eclipse. The exact color of the moon will change with the dust content in the earth's atmosphere.

This total lunar eclipse happened to meet the moon and came to the perigee. At this time, the moon is also known as the "super moon", and the moon disk will appear bigger and brighter than the usual full moon. Beijing time 16:45, the penumbra began to eclipse, when the edge of the earth's shadow began to cover the moon. 19:09, the moon turns red after eating. 19:27, the eclipse is over.

June 10: "Ring of Fire" annular solar eclipse

People who go north from Canada and pass through Greenland to Russia will be lucky enough to see the annular eclipse at sunrise. When the moon, the sun and the earth are in a straight line, and the surface of the moon is too small to cover the whole sun, the outline of the sun will be exposed at the edge of the dark surface of the moon, which is an annular eclipse. At 17:49 Beijing time, the annular solar eclipse will start in northern Canada and end in Russia at 19:33 (local time is daytime).

Although it is difficult for most people in the world to reach the distant areas where the annular eclipse passes, there are still millions of people who have the opportunity to witness the partial solar eclipse. Most parts of Asia, Europe and North America will be able to see part of the sun blocked by the moon. Please note that you can't look directly at the sun when watching the annular eclipse or partial eclipse, and you must bring appropriate protective equipment such as polarizer.

July 12: Venus meets Mars.

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

After sunset, Venus and Saturn, two bright planets, seem to meet in the sky. At this time, there is a crescent moon to join in the fun, and the photography opportunity is excellent.

Similar to the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in June 5438+February 2020, Mars and Venus are so close that they can be seen at the same time with a small telescope. Venus is as bright as a star and easy to find. Red Mars is much darker, because the brilliance of Venus may be difficult to find at first. However, when your eyes get used to it, you can easily find them with the naked eye, and the visual distance between them is equivalent to a full moon.

August 12- 13: Perseid meteor shower maximum period

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

Every year in mid-August, the earth passes through the debris cloud left by comet Swift-Tuttle. When small debris burns in the upper atmosphere, there will be many meteors in the night sky, which is the Perseid meteor shower. Generally speaking, there are as many as 60 meteors per hour.

This year's Perseid meteor shower should be particularly beautiful, because the maximum period coincides with the high black wind on the moon. A curved silver hook moon will set early in the first half of the night, and the viewing conditions throughout the night are excellent. The northern hemisphere is always particularly popular, because the meteor shower seems to spread from the direction of Perseus, and at that time of year, Perseus is closer to the horizon from the southern hemisphere, which is not good for viewing.

If you want to enjoy the sky fireworks show, you must find a place with as little light pollution as possible. However, even in suburbs or parks, as long as the sky is clear, it is still possible to see dozens of meteors every hour.

August 18: Mars joins Mercury.

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

The innermost planet in the solar system, tiny mercury, and the fourth planet from the sun, red Mars, will meet at close range. It's a little difficult to watch together this time, because it happened at sunset, so you have to find a place near the western horizon with a wide view. Mercury looks brighter than Mars because solar energy shines more on it. If you can observe this conjunction with a telescope, you will find that the two planets seem to be too close, and you can see their details in the same view even under high magnification.

65438+10.8: Draco meteor shower

Illustration: Andrew fazekas

After nightfall, in the northwest sky, Draco will "release" 10 to 15 meteors every hour. These meteors come from gravel-sized particles left by comet 2 1P/Giacobini-Zinner. Because there was only a thin silver hook moon that night, the relatively dark night sky allowed sky watchers to enjoy the blooming gravel in the sky.

Like most other meteor showers, the Draco meteor shower is named after the Draco where its radiant point is located. From dusk to midnight is the best time to enjoy the Draco meteor shower, when the meteor is at its highest position. After the maximum period, Draco will reach the zenith near midnight in the northern hemisphere. Meteors in the Draco meteor shower are quite easy to see, because some of them are the slowest of all meteor showers.

165438+ 10 month 19: partial eclipse.

The last lunar eclipse this year will span North America, South America, Australia and parts of Asia and Europe. Although this is strictly a partial lunar eclipse, 95% of the full moon will be covered by the shadow of the earth. In the eclipse phase, it looks like a total lunar eclipse, which means that the entire lunar surface will be orange or red. Beijing time 15: 18, the eclipse begins; 17:02, delicious. China can see the moon coming out with food.

65438+February 4th: Total solar eclipse

At the end of 20021,people who embark on the ultimate journey of chasing the total solar eclipse will have a good opportunity. This total solar eclipse will be staged in Antarctica. Meanwhile, parts of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Namibia and Australia will see partial solar eclipse. When the moon covers a part of the sun, people in these places can see that the sun seems to have been bitten off by a polarizer.

Some cruise ships and planes will pass directly through the total solar eclipse area. You can see that the moon completely blocks the sun and darkens the surrounding environment for a few minutes. People who rush to the southernmost tip of the earth will have the opportunity to see the broad prospects of the sun, towering icebergs and ice that come out with food in the morning, and draw a perfect ending for the whole year.

(Translator: Mike Gao)