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OUT OF THIS WORLD | Seasonal Sky Observation – an overview of what to look for in the night sky for the upcoming season
Scott Sutherland
Meteorologist / Scientific Editor
Thursday, November 29, 2018, 8:21 pm – As the days get colder and the nights get longer, the winter is coming! Here are the main events of winter observation 2018-2019, as well as some extras not to be missed.
Winter is perhaps not the easiest time of year to observe the stars, but it can be the most rewarding.
Clear winter nights often offer the best viewing compared to other seasons, as the air is generally drier and more stable. Stars, planets and the moon seem sharper and cleaner, their light meeting less turbulence in the air before reaching us. Drier air also reflects less light pollution produced by our urban centers. Our sky therefore tends to be darker, which allows us to see more stars and more darker meteors during annual meteor shower.
So stay warm as you head to the sky to watch the upcoming season and do not miss these big events.
QUICK LIST
• December 22 – The longest full moon of 2018
• January 3 – Earth perihelion
• January 3 and 4 – Quadrantides meteor shower peaks
• January 20-21 – Super Blood Wolf Moon Total Moon Eclipse
• February 21 – Zodiacal light after evening twilight, western sky for two weeks
• March 20th – Equinox
• Bonus – Conjunctions and Alignments (January 22 – February 27)
DECEMBER 22 – THE MOST MOONFUL MOON OF 2018
This year, December Full cold moon falls on the night of the 22nd, just one night after the longest night of the year.
That night, the moon will rise at 5 pm local time, and it will be fixed at 8:32 am on the morning of the 23rd, for a total duration of 15 hours and 32 minutes of the full moon!
This is the longest full moon of the year!
We did not see the Full Moon last as long as December 2010 (when she was in the sky for 15 hours and 54 minutes on 20-21)!
JANUARY 3 – EARTH IN PERIHELION
This event is not so much something to see. Instead, it is simply an experience to live, as the Earth goes through what is called perihelion.
When the Earth moves around the Sun, it does not draw a perfect circle. It actually follows an elliptical path.
This means that, even though we generally use an average distance from the Sun of 1 "astronomical unit" or 1 "AU", equal to 150 million km, the Earth is closer to the Sun at certain points in its orbit, and to Other places. points, he is further away.
This pattern of Earth orbit exaggerates the elliptical shape of the orbit and the relative sizes of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. Credit: NASA
Every year, around January 3, the Earth reaches its closest point to the Sun. This is called perihelion.
If you want to mark the exact moment, take a break at exactly 05:20 UTC on the 3rd of January.
• 1:50 Newfoundland standard time
• 13:20 Atlantic Standard Time
• 12:20 pm January 3rd, Eastern Standard Time
• 11:20 am January 2, Central Standard Time
• 22:20 January 2 rd Mountain Time
• 9:20 pm January 2 Pacific Standard Time
Will you feel something when this happens? Not specifically from the astronomical event, but it's still pretty cool to mark the moment this happens.
3-4 JANUARY – SHOWER FEET METEOR QUADRANTID
The best winter meteorite rains occur just after New Year the quadrantids.
The location of Quadrantide radiant, on the night of January 3 to 4, 2019. Source: Stellarium / Scott Sutherland
Unlike the 2019 Quadrantides rains, which were mostly leached by a very bright almost full moon, this year's meteor showers occur while the moon is only a thin burst of crescent , which slides beyond the horizon shortly after sunset.
This means that we will have a beautiful dark sky all night and that the observers will have the best chance of catching even the lightest meteors that shine in the sky during the peak of the shower on January 3rd and 4th.
The Quadrantids, which come from an asteroid known as the 2003 EH1 (probably an extinct comet), are just one of two meteor showers known to come from a rocky body (l & rsquo; Other Geminids from December). These two meteor showers also featured excellent displays, with Quadrantids averaging 120 meteors per hour (although the actual rate may vary from around 60 to around 200)!
HOW TO WATCH METEOR SHOWERS
The first thing to consider when planning a meteor shower is to follow the weather that it does.
Be sure to check The Weather Network on TV, on our website or from our app to make sure you have the most up-to-date forecasts.
Then you have to get away from the lights of the city and the better you go, the better.
Look below: What light pollution does on the city of the Milky Way?
For most parts of Canada, getting out of light pollution is simply a matter of driving outside your city, village or village. However, in some areas, such as in southwestern and central Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River, light pollution is highly concentrated. Going far enough outside a city to escape light pollution unfortunately tends to put you under the dome of light pollution of the nearby city. In these regions, there are dark sky reserves, but the best choice of a sky watchman for a dark sky is usually to drive north.
Once you have verified that the sky is clear and you have escaped urban light pollution, stop in a safe and dark place (provincial parks, even if you are confined to the parking lot, are usually an excellent location) .
For a better visualization, in order to see as many meteors as possible, it is essential to allow time for your eyes to adapt to the darkness. Between 30 and 45 minutes is optimal.
Meanwhile, avoid any bright light source, including the screen of your mobile phone. If you need to use your mobile phone, reduce the amount of blue light emitted by your screen (usually in your phone's screen settings) and reduce its brightness. In addition, some applications may put your phone in "night mode", which further shifts the screen colors to red. Once you have done this, checking your phone during sky observation will not have such an important impact on your night vision.
Note: Although the graphs presented here indicate the location of the "radiant" meteor shower – the point of the sky from which the meteors appear to come – the meteors themselves may appear anywhere. in the sky.
The best way to watch a meteor shower is to lean back or lie down so you can look straight up so you can see the sky as much as you can, all at once. Bring a blanket to spread on the floor or a lawn chair to sit on or even hug your car.
Bringing family and friends is also a good thing, as it is best to share these experiences with others.
20-21 JANUARY – SUPER WOLF MOON TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
Near a year after "the total blue moon eclipse, Super Blue Moon", we will see another one, even if it will not be "blue".
On the night of January 21 to 22, the Full Wolf Moon will cross the northern half of the Earth 's shadow, producing a total lunar eclipse. The graph above shows the path of the Moon through the shadows and shadows of the Earth, and details the time of the eclipse for different time zones in Canada.
For an added bonus, since the Moon will be very close to the perigee – its closest distance from the Earth – it will be aSuper Blood Wolf Moon & Total Moon Eclipse.
Hopefully the sky will be clear for this event, as we will not have any other lunar eclipse so centered on North America (so everyone in Canada can see it) until May 2022!
FEBRUARY 21 – ZODIACALE LIGHT
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This winter, evening night observers will have the opportunity to see the huge cloud of interplanetary dust that surrounds the Sun and that manifests itself in our night sky as "Zodiacal Light".
In the 2019 Observatory Manual of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Roy Bishop, emeritus professor of physics at Acadia University, wrote:
The zodiacal light is a huge pyramid of white light with a slightly radiant base, whose base is close to the horizon and whose axis is centered on the zodiac (or better, the ecliptic). In its most luminous parts, it exceeds the luminance of the central milky way.
According to Dr. Bishop, although this phenomenon can be quite brilliant, it can easily be spoiled by daylight or night or by light pollution. In addition, as it is better to watch it just after dusk, the inexperienced sometimes confuses with twilight and therefore lacks its place.
On a clear day and under a dark sky, look towards the western horizon, in the half-hour that has elapsed shortly after dusk, from February 21 to March 7 approximately.
MARCH 20 – EQUINOX
When our Earth moves on its orbit, the tilt of the planet changes the angle of the Sun in our sky.
From the end of September to the end of March, the North Pole is away from the sun, so that the sun is positioned more directly on the southern hemisphere and reaches its lowest point in the northern sky (and the higher in the southern sky) or around December 22nd.
Conversely, from the end of March to the end of September, the south pole is away from the sun, so that the sun is positioned more directly on the northern hemisphere, reaching its highest point in the northern sky (and the lowest in the southern sky) on or around June 22nd.
At the two points between these periods – especially around March 20 and September 22 – it seems to us that the sun is crossing the equator. In March, it crosses from south to north and in September from north to south.
The exact moment that the sun seems to be on the equatorin both cases, is known as a Equinox.
The hemisphere in which you find yourself determines exactly the type of equinox you encounter. In March, the northern hemisphere marks the spring equinox, while the southern hemisphere marks the autumn equinox. In September, it is the reverse.
The upcoming equinox, marking the beginning of spring in the north and autumn in the south, takes place at exactly 5:58 pm. EDT, March 20th.
CONJUNCTIONS AND ALIGNMENTS
Most nights, look in a clear sky and it is likely that you will see the Moon and one or more planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn being the most remarkable), at least at some point. during the night.
Some nights, these objects appear particularly close (at least from our point of view here on Earth), what astronomers call thisconjunction& # 39;, while on other nights, many of these bright objects can align in the sky in a & # 39;alignment& # 39 ;.
Here are the notable conjunctions and alignments for the winter of 2019
These conjunctions and alignments of the winter of 2019 all take place early in the morning, before dawn. Credit: Stellarium / Scott Sutherland
• January 22 and 23 – Conjunctions Venus-Jupiter
• January 31 – Venus-Moon-Jupiter Alignment
• 18th February – Venus-Saturn Conjunction, near Jupiter
• February 27 – Jupiter-Moon conjunction, with Venus and Saturn nearby
• February 28th – Venus-Saturn-Moon-Jupiter alignment
What's new for the rest of the year? There are many things happening, but the biggest events ahead are the total eclipse of the southern hemisphere in July and the November Mercury pbadage to the sun's face!
Sources: IMO | Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
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