Saturday, April 30, 2022

Stargazing Events to Watch in 2022 | E-Neighborhood Advisor

 Happy Saturday! - Hope you have a great one!


In 2022 the night sky promises to be full of cosmic wonders. A pair of total lunar eclipses—nicknamed “blood moons” for the deep shade of red the moon turns when bathed in Earth’s shadow—will be visible to billions. Brilliant shooting stars will streak across the heavens with no bright moon to drown out the light. And sky-watchers can look out for an eye-catching huddle of five of our brightest neighboring planets, all visible to the unaided eye. In the right conditions, distant Uranus may even join the five other visible planets, seen as a tiny, greenish point of light in the sky.

Here is a rundown from National Geographic of some of the most spectacular celestial phenomena worth circling on your calendar for the upcoming year.

April 30 and May 1: Venus-Jupiter conjunction
As the month of April progresses, stargazers can watch the bright planet Jupiter slowly rise higher and higher in the southeastern sky each day just before dawn. The giant planet will steadily approach the brilliantly bright planet Venus, and before dawn on April 30, the two worlds will be so close that they will almost appear to merge. The pair will be visible at the same time through binoculars and some backyard telescopes. As an added bonus, Mars and Saturn will be visible in the sky to the upper right.

Be prepared to scout out a good observing spot with an unobstructed line of sight toward the southeast horizon. This celestial wonder will occur in close proximity to the sun, so catching a glimpse is all about timing. The trick is to allow the planets to rise high enough in the morning sky to observe them before the light of the brightening dawn drowns out your views. The best time to start your hunt will be about 30 minutes before local sunrise.

May 5 and 6: Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks
Meteor watchers are in for a treat in early May, as sky conditions should be nearly perfect for the peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The best views for this shower are expected in the predawn hours of May 5. The waxing crescent moon will set early in the evening the night before, leaving skies dark enough for watchers to glimpse even the faintest shooting stars.

The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius, which will be near the southeastern horizon during the shower. Because the shower’s radiant—where the meteors appear to originate—is positioned in a southerly location in the sky, the show will slightly favor viewers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Under a pristine sky away from city lights, as many as 20 to 30 shooting stars may be visible per hour, although that number could be a more modest 10 to 20 per hour in the Northern Hemisphere. While the Eta Aquarids are not necessarily the most prolific shower, the meteors’ claim to fame is that they are formed from debris shed by Halley’s comet.
May 15 and 16: Flower Moon total lunar eclipse
The first of two total lunar eclipses of 2022 will occur on May 15 or 16, depending on where you are. Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon align such that the moon crosses through Earth’s shadow, darkening and reddening its silvery disc in our skies. This particular lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.

While parts of the lunar eclipse will occur after the moon has set for viewers in Africa and Europe, sky-watchers across the eastern half of North America and all of Central and South America will get to see the entire eclipse from beginning to end. Starting at 9:32 p.m. ET on May 15, the eclipse will reach its maximum phase—when the moon turns its deepest and most dramatic red—at 12:11 a.m. ET on May 16.

Since the full moon of May is known as the Flower Moon, named for the blooming flowers this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, this celestial event has been dubbed the Flower Moon Eclipse.

June 18 to 27: Five (possibly six) planets align
Sky-watchers who set their alarm clocks early in June will be able to catch a rare lineup of all the major planets visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and possibly Uranus—though seeing the final planet requires pristine sky conditions. To cap it off, the moon will pass near each of these worlds between June 18 and June 27.

On June 24 and 25 the crescent moon will glide past the ice giant Uranus and make it easier to hunt down, especially using binoculars. Look for a distinctly green-colored dot. And eager stargazers won’t want to miss the moon’s close encounter with super-bright Venus on June 26. Then on June 27 the elusively faint Mercury gets its turn with the moon when both will appear embedded in the morning twilight.

October 25: Partial solar eclipse
On October 25 the moon will take a bite out of the sun when a partial solar eclipse graces the skies over most of Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of western Asia, northern Africa, and Greenland. Similar to the partial eclipse on April 30, this October event will occur when the moon partially blocks the solar disc as seen from Earth. As much as 86 percent of the sun will be covered for viewers in parts of Eurasia.

The moon’s silhouette will begin to block part of the sun at 8:58 UTC, and the maximum eclipse will occur at 11:00 UTC. The partial solar eclipse will occur during nighttime in the Americas. The next solar eclipse for sky-watchers west of the Atlantic won’t happen until October 14, 2023, when an annular eclipse, or “ring of fire,” will be visible.

November 7 and 8: Total lunar eclipse
People across North and South America, Australia, Asia, and parts of Europe will have the opportunity to watch the moon blush red for the second time in 2022 when a total lunar eclipse occurs during the overnight hours of November 7 and 8. In the western United States and Canada, eastern Russia, New Zealand, and parts of eastern Australia, sky-watchers will get to see the entire eclipse unfold. Meanwhile, eastern North America and most of South America will be able to view partial phases of the eclipse as the moon sets in the west.

The moon will begin to darken along its edge on November 8 at 3:03 a.m. PT, and then its entire disc will plunge into the deepest central portion of Earth’s shadow at 2:59 a.m. PT. The eclipse will end at 3:41 am PT, rounding out another wonderful year of stargazing.

Clear skies!
Your Flooring Consultant,
Matt Capell
Email: sales@capellinteriors.com
Phone (208) 288-0151
P.S. Here's a joke for you!
What does a star win in a competition?
A constellation prize

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