Post by Oz-T on Jan 16, 2018 9:56:41 GMT
2018 has a few sky events for anybody who is interested:
ECLIPSES for 2018
There will be five eclipses occurring in 2018; three solar eclipses and two lunar. Unfortunately, there's no total solar eclipses this year.
31 January - Total Eclipse of the Moon, visible from Asia, Australia, NZ and west coast of North America (starts 10:50am UT i.e. London time). Viewers in Australia and NZ may see a blood red moon if there's enough volcanic ash and smoke in the air from Bali's Mt Agung. Totality is around midnight local time for observers on Australia's eastern states.
15 February - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, starts over Antarctica and then moves over South America. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout as seen in the spectacular USA eclipse of 2017.
13 July - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, Southern Ocean between Australia & Antarctica, not visible from land. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout.
28 July - Total Eclipse of the Moon, some visibility from Australia around 5am but is soon lost as twilight begins. Also, western Africa, Europe, and eastern Asia. This is the first central lunar eclipse since 2011 whereby the moon passes directly through the central (darkest) part of Earth's shadow.
11 August - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, visible from far north Canada, Greenland and northern Europe. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout.
BLUE MOONs - January & March
We get a rare double blue moon in 2018. A blue moon occurs when we see a second full moon in the same calendar month and while it is common, it's rare to have this happen twice in a calendar year. The first blue moon occurs on 31 January (as there was also a full moon on 2 January). The second blue moon occurs on 31 March (after the full moon on 2 March). Note: the moon is identical in appearance to any other full moon, so it's really more about the timing of it than the look.
MARS OPPOSITION - July
Mars has long been a popular planet to observe because astronomers can observe dark markings and even polar ice caps. It reaches opposition every couple of years when its orbit brings it close to Earth's. However, due to the elliptical orbits, Mars can sometimes be very close, and other times a long way off. 2018 is the closest (since 2003) that Mars gets to us in its cycle of eight oppositions so it's worth a look. This will happen on 27 July, but a week or two either side will be fine for viewing. It will appear as a very bright orange disk, noticeably brighter than the stars and the best time to look is from around 9pm, anywhere in the world. Look due south if you're in the northern hemisphere (or due north for those south of the equator). If you know how to locate the constellation Capricorn, that's the direction to look, but Mars should be easy to see with just your eyes. Look toward the arc that the sun and moon move in because the planets roughly trace that same path.
Note: Every couple of years an internet hoax resurfaces, saying that this is the closest that Mars gets in a squillion years and it'll appear as large as the full moon. Ignore this nonsense; it's a total fabrication and the hoaxers merely insert new dates for resurrecting this long-term hoax.
ECLIPSES for 2018
There will be five eclipses occurring in 2018; three solar eclipses and two lunar. Unfortunately, there's no total solar eclipses this year.
31 January - Total Eclipse of the Moon, visible from Asia, Australia, NZ and west coast of North America (starts 10:50am UT i.e. London time). Viewers in Australia and NZ may see a blood red moon if there's enough volcanic ash and smoke in the air from Bali's Mt Agung. Totality is around midnight local time for observers on Australia's eastern states.
15 February - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, starts over Antarctica and then moves over South America. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout as seen in the spectacular USA eclipse of 2017.
13 July - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, Southern Ocean between Australia & Antarctica, not visible from land. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout.
28 July - Total Eclipse of the Moon, some visibility from Australia around 5am but is soon lost as twilight begins. Also, western Africa, Europe, and eastern Asia. This is the first central lunar eclipse since 2011 whereby the moon passes directly through the central (darkest) part of Earth's shadow.
11 August - Partial Eclipse of the Sun, visible from far north Canada, Greenland and northern Europe. As this is a partial eclipse there is no total blackout.
BLUE MOONs - January & March
We get a rare double blue moon in 2018. A blue moon occurs when we see a second full moon in the same calendar month and while it is common, it's rare to have this happen twice in a calendar year. The first blue moon occurs on 31 January (as there was also a full moon on 2 January). The second blue moon occurs on 31 March (after the full moon on 2 March). Note: the moon is identical in appearance to any other full moon, so it's really more about the timing of it than the look.
MARS OPPOSITION - July
Mars has long been a popular planet to observe because astronomers can observe dark markings and even polar ice caps. It reaches opposition every couple of years when its orbit brings it close to Earth's. However, due to the elliptical orbits, Mars can sometimes be very close, and other times a long way off. 2018 is the closest (since 2003) that Mars gets to us in its cycle of eight oppositions so it's worth a look. This will happen on 27 July, but a week or two either side will be fine for viewing. It will appear as a very bright orange disk, noticeably brighter than the stars and the best time to look is from around 9pm, anywhere in the world. Look due south if you're in the northern hemisphere (or due north for those south of the equator). If you know how to locate the constellation Capricorn, that's the direction to look, but Mars should be easy to see with just your eyes. Look toward the arc that the sun and moon move in because the planets roughly trace that same path.
Note: Every couple of years an internet hoax resurfaces, saying that this is the closest that Mars gets in a squillion years and it'll appear as large as the full moon. Ignore this nonsense; it's a total fabrication and the hoaxers merely insert new dates for resurrecting this long-term hoax.
