In the new year, these special celestial phenomena are worth looking forward to

◎ Kou Wen

2021 has passed, and this year's celestial phenomena such as the red moon, lunar occultation venus, Mars and moon have brought us visual enjoyment. In the new year, what wonderful special celestial phenomena are waiting for us?

The so-called special celestial phenomena refer to uncommon astronomical phenomena such as solar eclipses, lunar eclipses, planetary conjunctions, planetary conjunctions, and meteor showers. It is these special celestial wonders that decorate the starry sky stage of 2022, making us willing to wait quietly in the evening or late at night, just to see it.

Image source: Visual China

Take precautions to see lunar eclipses and solar eclipses

In 2022, on a global scale, there will be two lunar eclipses, two solar eclipses, and both lunar eclipses are total lunar eclipses, occurring on May 16 and November 8, respectively. In our country we can only see the total lunar eclipse of November 8.

The total lunar eclipse of May 16 can be seen in South America, North America, Africa, much of Europe, and the far west of Asia. This total lunar eclipse cannot be seen in our country because it happens to take place during daylight in our country, and the moon is below the horizon. The lunar eclipse begins at 10:27 Beijing time, the total lunar eclipse begins at 11:29, the total lunar eclipse ends at 12:53, and the entire lunar eclipse will end at 13:55, lasting nearly 3:55 hours, of which the total eclipse lasts nearly one and a half hours, with a maximum eclipse of 1.41.

Globally, the total lunar eclipse of November 8 can be seen in North America, western South America, eastern Asia, and Oceania. The whole process of the lunar eclipse can be seen in some parts of the eastern part of China, and the central and western regions can see the eclipse of the moon. The time of the first loss of this total lunar eclipse is at 17:09, the eclipse (that is, the beginning of the total lunar eclipse) is at 18:16, the eclipse (that is, when the moon enters the deepest shadow of the earth) is at 19:00, the raw light (that is, the end of the total lunar eclipse) is at 19:41, and the compound is at 20:49. The lunar eclipse will last 3 hours and 40 minutes, and the total lunar eclipse will last nearly an hour and a half, with a maximum eclipse score of 1.36. It is worth mentioning that during the total lunar eclipse, China can also see the rare astronomical phenomenon of lunar occultation of Uranus (that is, the moon obscuring Uranus).

Both eclipses in 2022 are partial solar eclipses. The first time occurred in the early morning of May 1, Beijing time, the maximum eclipse score of 0.64, in the southeast of the Pacific Ocean, South America, Chile, Argentina and other regions can be seen, China can not see this partial eclipse at all.

The second eclipse occurred on October 25 and is visible in Europe, northeast Africa, and western Asia, with a maximum eclipse score of 0.862. In Xinjiang, Tibet and other places in the west of China, the sun can be seen to eat and set, that is, the eclipse has not ended, the sun has set. The rest of the country is completely invisible to the eclipse.

Eclipses can be observed through the naked eye, but be sure to take eye protection measures, you can also use cameras or telescopes to shoot and observe eclipses, but when shooting, you must install a light reduction device in front of the lens and telescope.

Occasional "meetings" of planets

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, lost most of its time in the Sun's rays, and is the hardest of the five planets to observe. Observed from Earth, it always appears near the Sun, swinging back and forth on both sides of the Sun, no larger than 28 degrees.

The celestial body travels to the east of the Sun, and when it reaches the maximum angle, it is called the Eastern Great Distance, and when the western angle of the Sun reaches the maximum, it is the Western Great Distance.

In 2022, Mercury has 4 east distances and 3 west distances. The East Distance occurred on January 7, April 29, August 27, and December 21, respectively, and the West Distance occurred on February 17, June 16, and October 9, respectively. The best time to observe Mercury conditions this year is the east distance of Mercury on April 29, followed by the west distance of Mercury on October 9.

Venus is the brightest object at night except the Moon. Venus is called Chang Gung Star when it appears in the western sky in the evening, and it is called Daystar when it appears in the low east before dawn. For the vast majority of 2022, Venus will be a day star, and it will not become a Chang Gung star until the end of the year. After Venus descends on January 9 (that is, Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun), it travels to the east of the Sun, and begins to appear in the low south-southeast before dawn in late January, and then the altitude is increasing, and the observation conditions gradually improve. On March 20, Venus is at a large distance to the west, with a maximum angular distance of 47 degrees from the Sun and a brightness of about -4.4, which is very conducive to observation.

For Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, three planets outside the orbit of the Earth (i.e., exoplanets), the most interesting thing to pay attention to is when they are oppositional (refers to an astronomical phenomenon in which an exoplanet moves in a straight line with the earth and the sun during the process of orbiting the sun, and the earth happens to be located between the sun and the outer planet), because the opposition phase is the best time to observe them, when they are the brightest and closest to the earth. This year, Mars will be opposition on December 8, Jupiter on September 27, and Saturn on August 15.

The position of the five planets in the sky is constantly changing, with speeds and speeds, and sometimes several planets gather in a small area of the sky, which is a good opportunity for them to take a group photo.

From the end of March to the beginning of April, Venus, Mars, and Saturn will have a closer "meeting", and most recently they will gather in the range of 5 degrees to 6 degrees, and appear in the low south-southeast before dawn. On March 28 and 29, a remnant moon came not far from them, forming a three-star conjunction of Venus, Mars, and Saturn.

In mid-to-late April, the distance between Venus, Mars, and Saturn has gradually widened, and Jupiter is slowly approaching them, and finally before dawn on April 20, it is lined up along the ecliptic at a low altitude in the east, almost equally distributed in a range of more than 30 degrees, Jupiter is on the left, the lowest height, Saturn is the rightmost, the height is the highest, and in the middle are Venus and Mars. From April 25 to 28, a remnant moon will join their queue, and the night sky will be missing only the rare Mercury.

This year's "largest and roundest" moon, the so-called supermoon, will appear in the early morning of July 14. The time of the full moon on that day is about 3 o'clock, and the time of the moon skimming the perigee is at 17 o'clock on July 13, a difference of about 10 hours. The previous full moon occurred at around 20:00 on June 14, and the time of perigee was at 7:00 on June 15, after the full moon, about 11 hours away from the time of the full moon, which was also a supermoon.

The Celestial Theater Meteor Shower was the first to appear

The first important celestial phenomenon to appear on the starry sky stage each year is the quadrant meteor shower, which is one of the three major meteor showers in the northern hemisphere every year, with a maximum zenith flow of about 120 per hour. The irradiation point of the quadrant meteor shower is located at the junction of the constellations of Musa, Draco and Wuxian, and because the radiation point is relatively northern, for the area north of Beijing, the radiation point is above the horizon all night. It's just that when it's just dark, the radiation point is very low, close to the northern horizon, and it will rise high enough before dawn, so it is more suitable for observation in the second half of the night.

The characteristics of the quadrant meteor shower are that the duration of the maximum period is very short, the maximum is not more than a few hours, the flow before and after is small, sometimes the maximum will appear during the day, coupled with the meteor shower forecast is difficult to be particularly accurate, but also to avoid the influence of moonlight, so in the cold and frozen northern winter night, people do not have much chance to see this meteor shower.

The Perseid Meteor Shower and the Gemini Meteor Shower are two other larger meteor showers every year, the Perseid Meteor Shower activity time from July 17 to August 24, lasting more than a month, generally around August 13 every year, the perseus meteor shower flow reaches a maximum, the maximum peak flow per hour can reach more than 100. This year's Perseid meteor shower is forecasted to coincide with the full moon, and the strong moonlight will have a serious impact on observations and are not very suitable for observation.

This year, the maximum time of the Gemini meteor shower forecast is 21:00 Beijing time on December 14, and the maximum peak flow per hour is about 150. At this time, just 6 days after the full moon, the moon will rise about 4 hours after dark, and the moon will seriously affect observations after midnight. However, the moon is still below the horizon when the forecast meteor shower is extreme, and the observation is not affected. Only in mid-December, Gemini rises from the north-east horizon shortly after dark, and by the time the moon rises, the height of the radiation point is not too high.

There are also several medium-flowing meteor showers this year, including the extremely large Lyra meteor shower on April 23, the Aquarius η meteor shower on May 6, and the Orion meteor shower around October 21, although the flow is not comparable to the three major meteor showers, but it is also worth looking forward to.

Guided tour of the celestial signs

Sun- and Moon Eclipse

Both of this year's eclipses were partial solar eclipses. The first occurred in the early morning of May 1, Beijing time. The second time occurred on October 25, when the sun could be seen in Xinjiang, Tibet and other places in western China. Both lunar eclipses this year were total lunar eclipses, occurring on May 16 and November 8, respectively. Parts of eastern China can see the entire lunar eclipse process of the november 8 total lunar eclipse.

Supermoon

This year's "largest and roundest" moon will appear in the early morning of July 14. The full moon time of the day is around 3 o'clock, and the time of the moon skimming the perigee is at 17 o'clock on July 13. The previous full moon appeared at about 20:00 on June 14, and the time of passing through perigee was at 7:00 on June 15, after the full moon, which was more than 11 hours away from the time of the full moon, which was also a "supermoon".

Five planets

Mercury's large distance to the east on April 29 is the best time to observe Mercury's conditions this year. On March 20, venus is large in the west, and the maximum angular distance between Venus and the sun is 47 degrees, and the brightness is about -4.4, which is very conducive to observation. From April 25 to 28, a round of remnant moons will join the queue of Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter, and appear in the night sky with them, but the rare Mercury is missing.

meteor shower

The Perseid meteor shower activity period lasts for more than a month from July 17 to August 24, and generally around August 13 every year, the flow of the Perseid meteor shower reaches a maximum, and the maximum peak flow per hour can reach more than 100. The Maximum Time forecast for the Gemini Meteor Shower is 21:00 Beijing time on December 14, and the maximum zenith flow per hour is about 150.

Source: Science and Technology Daily

Editor: Wang Yu

Review: Julie

Final Judge: Liu Haiying