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| Quadrantid Meteor Shower and Solar Eclipse to Coincide On Tuesday - msnbc.com Posted: 02 Jan 2011 01:42 PM PST This Tuesday (Jan. 4) will be a busy day on the celestial calendar. Before sunrise, one of the most prolific displays of "shooting stars" will take place. For skywatchers in Europe or parts of Africa and Western Asia another great sky show awaits: a partial eclipse of the sun. But to catch the best views of these two sky shows the first major skywatching events of 2011 it's best to be prepared, and dress warmly. Here's a look at this week's skywatching bonanza, starting with the Quadrantid meteor shower. Quadrantid meteor shower returns Early each January, the Quadrantid meteor stream provides one of the most intense annual meteor displays, with a brief, sharp maximum lasting only a few hours. This Quadrantid meteor shower skywatching guide shows where and how to look in the northeastern sky to spot the shooting star display. The meteors actually radiate from the northeast corner of the constellation of Bootes, the Herdsman, so we might expect them to be called the "Bootids." But back in the late-18th century there was a constellation here called Quadrans Muralis, the "Mural or Wall Quadrant" (an astronomical instrument). It is long-obsolete star pattern, invented in 1795 by J.J. Lalande to commemorate the instrument used to observe the stars in his catalogue. Adolphe Quetelet of Brussels Observatory discovered the shower in the 1830s, and shortly afterward it was noted by several astronomers in Europe and America. So they were christened "Quadrantids" and even though the constellation from which these meteors appear to radiate no longer exists, the shower's original moniker continues to this day. Crumbs of a dead comet? At greatest activity, probably 50 to 100 shower members per hour should be seen. However, the Quadrantid influx is sharply peaked: six hours before and after maximum, these blue meteors appear at only a quarter of their highest rates. This means that the stream of particles is a narrow one possibly derived relatively recently from a small comet. In fact, in 2003, astronomer Peter Jenniskens of NASA found a near-Earth asteroid (2003 EH1) that seemed like it was on the right orbit to be the source of the Quadrantid meteor shower. Some astronomers think that this asteroid is really a piece of an old, "extinct" comet; perhaps a comet that was recorded by Chinese, Korean, and Japanese observers during the years 1490-91. According to that theory, the comet broke apart and some of the pieces became the meteoroids that make up the Quadrantid stream. When and Where to Look In 2011 a strong display of Quadrantid meteors is likely for Europe and points east to central Asia. Maximum activity is expected at around 0100 GMT on Tuesday, Jan. 4 when the radiant of this shower from where the meteors appear to emanate is ascending the dark northeastern sky. With no moonlight to interfere, this might turn out to be one of the best meteor displays of the year. Morning twilight will not interfere until about 6 a.m. local time. What about for North America? At the time the shower is reaching its peak, it will be Monday evening, Jan. 3 on the other side of the Atlantic; 8 p.m. EST in the East and 5 p.m. PST (still twilight) in the West. The radiant will be positioned low near the north-northwest horizon. As a consequence of the low altitude, only a fraction of the 50 to 100 shower members will likely be seen. But those "Quads" that are seen, will likely be spectacular "earthgrazers" that skim across our upper atmosphere on long, majestic paths. By 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Jan. 3, the radiant will be climbing in the northeast sky, but the meteor rates will be rapidly declining. East of the Mississippi, you might still count a respectable 20 or 25 per hour; west of the Mississippi, perhaps more like 5 to 15 per hour. And who knows? As meteor expert, Allistair McBeath has noted, some Quadrantid outbursts in the past have been several hours early or late. If the latter happens this year, it could lead to higher hourly rates for North America. If you do head out to look for meteors, remember to bundle up with blankets and a comfortable chair! The same rules apply as to what we suggested last month with the December Geminid meteor shower. Jan. 4 partial solar eclipse After viewing the spectacle of a fine meteor shower on Tuesday morning, skywatchers over Europe, the northern half of Africa and western Asia will then be treated to a bonus and weather permitting be able to enjoy the spectacle of a partial eclipse of the sun. The moons outer shadow called the penumbra, from where the partial eclipse will be visible will scrape the northern part of the Earth. First, a note of caution: Be very, very careful about the precautions for eclipse viewing! Never look at even a tiny bit of the suns disk without proper light filter. The safest way to view a solar eclipse is to project the suns image either through a pinhole or through binoculars or a telescope (but at no time should you look through the pinhole or binoculars or telescope at the sun!) Youll get useful solar eclipse viewing safety tips here. Be sure to observe them! The Jan. 4 partial solar eclipse will first appear in Algeria, the second largest country on the African continent. The first contact of the penumbral shadow (where the sun rises with a barely perceptible nick in its southern edge) coincides with local sunrise a few hundred kilometers northeast of In Salah, an oasis town in central Algeria, at the heart of the Sahara Desert region of northern Africa. Ultimately, the shadow will envelop nearly all of Europe, the northern half of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia. Sweden has the best show The region of greatest eclipse, where the moon will hide 80 percent of the suns disk, occurs at sunrise over northeastern Sweden, along the Gulf of Bothnia, near the city of Skellefte There, the early winter sun should appear to barely rise along the southern horizon, its top and center blocked at 9:51 a.m. Local Time by the moon. [ Photos: The Total Solar Eclipse of 2010 ] From this spot on Earth, looking along the brow of our planet toward this U-shaped sun might convey to some a sensation of the moon's tubular shadow hurtling overhead and onward into space. Cities in Western Europe will also enjoy a sunrise eclipse, with the striking spectacle of a partially eclipsed sun emerging into view from beyond the east-southeast horizon. London will see 66.7 percent coverage at 8:12 a.m. Local Time; Madrid, 46.8 percent coverage at 8:52 a.m. Local Time; Paris, 64.9 percent coverage at 9:09 a.m. Local Time; and Oslo, 77.9 percent coverage at 9:35 a.m. Local Time in Norway. All times given here are for local standard time. It should be pointed out that we are providing values pertaining to the obscuration of the sun, by the moon, which refers to the total area of the suns disk that is being covered. This is not to be confused with the magnitude of the eclipse, which refers to the fraction of the suns diameter that is covered. NASA astronomer, Fred Espenak has calculated the GMT/UT observation conditons for 65 selected cities in Europe, Africa and Asia, which includes both the obscuration and magnitude values. You can see the entire city list by clicking here. The shadow sweeping eastward, leaves the Earth's surface, in the Eurasian country of Kazakhstan, to the north of Lake Balkhash about 4 hours and 21 minutes after it first touched down in Algeria. Good viewing to you and no frustrating cloud cover! Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. © 2010 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com. 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| Solar Eclipse and Meteor Shower to Launch 2011 Skywatching Season - msnbc.com Posted: 31 Dec 2010 12:40 PM PST The year 2011 promises to be a dazzling one for skywatchers, and it hits the ground running with a partial solar eclipse and meteor shower. But those two sky spectacles are just the beginning for 2011. Here are some of the more noteworthy sky events that will take place over the next year. SPACE.com's Night Sky column will provide more extensive coverage of most of these events as they draw closer. Jan. 4Meteor shower, solar eclipse and planets (oh my!): An action-packed day on the celestial calendar. First, the Quadrantid Meteor Shower reaches its peak during the predawn hours. Its one of the best meteor displays of the year, with 50 to 100 meteors per hour. Those living in Europe and western and central Asia should have the best views. As a bonus, those areas of the world will witness a partial eclipse of the sun on this same day. The greatest part of the eclipse, where nearly 86 percent of the suns diameter will be covered, occurs at sunrise over northeastern Sweden, along the Gulf of Bothnia, near the city of Skellefte Cities in Western Europe, including Oslo, London, Paris and Madrid, will also enjoy a sunrise eclipse. Finally, Jupiter will engage Uranus in the last of a series of three conjunctions; there have been only six such triple conjunctions between 1801 and 2200.The last was in 1983 and the next will come during 2037-38. March 15Mercury and Jupiter draw close: Like two ships passing in the twilight, Mercury and Jupiter come within 2 degrees of each other this evening. For comparison, your fist held at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of arc in the night sky. Jupiter will be heading toward the sun, while Mercury is moving away from the sun during this time. Immediately after sunset, concentrate on that part of the sky just above and to the left of where the sun has just set. Using binoculars, sweep around this part of the sky to see bright Jupiter sitting just below and to the left of the harder-to-spot Mercury. May (all month long): Four of the five naked-eye planets will crowd together into what could be described as a Great Celestial Summit Meeting. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are contained within a 10-degree span on May 1, shrinking to a minimum of less than 6 degrees on May 12, then opening back up to 10 degrees on May 20. Twice during May, three planets close to within nearly 2 degrees of each other: Mercury-Venus-Jupiter (on May 11-12) and Mercury-Venus-Mars (May 21). And the crescent moon joins the array on May 1 and again on May 30-31. June 1A partial eclipse of the sun: The zone of visibility for this eclipse covers parts of northeast Asia, where the largest eclipse occurs over Cheshskaya Bay and the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra of far northwestern Russia. Here, the upper three-fifths of the midnight sun will appear bitten away. The eclipse will also be available to the northern two-thirds of Alaska (an early afternoon event), as well as northern and eastern portions of Canada, where viewers will see the eclipse during the course of their afternoon, as the sun slowly descends toward the west-northwest horizon. Greenland and Iceland are also within the eclipse zone, the latter getting a view just before the sun begins to set in their late evening. The penumbral shadow quits the surface over the open waters of the Atlantic to the east of Newfoundland, as the sun passes out of sight. June 15A total eclipse of the moon: The Americas are pretty much shut out of this event, but almost the entire Eastern Hemisphere will be able see it. [ Photos: The Total Lunar Eclipse of 2010] At mid-eclipse, the moon passes just north of the center of the Earth's shadow. As such, the duration of totality is an unusually long 100 minutes, which is just seven minutes shy of the absolute maximum for a total lunar eclipse. In fact, over the last one hundred years, only three other eclipses have rivaled the duration of totality of this eclipse: 1935, July 16 (101 minutes); 1982, July 6 (107 minutes), and 2000, July 16 (107 minutes). Aug. 13Perseidmeteor shower: More of a lowlight than a highlight; the annual summer performance of the Perseid meteor shower will be severely hindered by the light of a full moon. Oct. 8Draconidmeteor shower: Many meteor experts are predicting a good chance that an outburst of up to many hundreds of Draconid meteors will take place. Unfortunately, like the Perseids, a bright moon could severely hamper visibility. The peak of the display is due sometime between 16h and 21h UT, meaning that the best chances of seeing any enhanced activity from these very slow-moving meteors would be from Eastern Europe and Asia. Nov. 10Mars and bright star: A colorful conjunction takes place high in the predawn sky between the yellow-orange Mars and the bluish-white star Regulus in Leo, the Lion. They are separated by 1.3 degrees, but theyll be within 2 degrees of each other for five days and within 5 degrees of each other for nearly three weeks, so they will be a rather long-enduring feature of the mid-autumn morning sky. Nov. 25A partial eclipse of the sun: The earths penumbral shadow brushes the southern and western portion of South Africa. Greatest eclipse nearly 91 percent of the suns diameter covered as it reaches a magnitude of 0.905 occurs at a point in the Bellingshausen Sea along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The shadow (just barely) manages to pass over Tasmania as well as portions of New Zealand's South Island. In fact, the last contact of the shadow with Earth occurs just to the west of the South Island, in the Tasman Sea. Dec. 10A total eclipse of the moon: The side of the Earth that is facing the moon during this event is chiefly the Pacific Ocean, with eastern and central Asia seeing this as an evening event, while for North Americans this is a pre-sunrise affair. From a spot in the Philippine Sea, south of Japan and east of Taiwan, the moon will stand directly overhead during the middle of the eclipse. For those living in the Eastern Time Zone of the U.S. and Canada, the moon will have already dropped out of sight beyond the west-northwest horizon for those living near and along the Atlantic Seaboard. Over the central U.S. and Canada, the moon will become progressively immersed in the umbra as it approaches its setting; the farther west you go, the larger the obscuration before the moon goes out of sight. The western U.S. and Canada will be able to see the total phase. Dec. 13Another low-light meteor shower: The Geminid meteor shower, now ranked as the best of the annual meteor showers, has the misfortune of occurring during the time of a waning gibbous moon, which will pretty much squelch all but the brightest meteors. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. © 2010 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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