Sky Calendar 2021: Guide for stargazers to follow astronomical phenomena throughout the year – BBC Thai
The year 2021 kicks off with a spectacular astronomical phenomenon. That is, orbiting closer together of Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn between January 9-11, but if anyone misses this visit There are also other major celestial events and space exploration movements to be followed. In the coming months
1. Chance to see Mercury most clearly.
If anyone has not seen Mercury. This is the smallest and closest to the sun in the solar system. Jan. 24, this is the perfect opportunity to watch it fully. With the naked eye looking toward the western horizon Or can use binoculars to help
Mercury normally takes 88 days to orbit the Sun, which is largely invisible to us. Due to being obscured by the sun or subject to excessive sunlight
But in about 2 weeks Mercury will orbit into a phase known as dichotomy, when its surface is facing the Earth halfway through the sunlight. Allows the world to see Mercury as clearly as possible in the year.
2.Deep space objects in the southern hemisphere sky
Stargazing in regions below the equator Able to see many types of exotic space objects Let’s start with what is easiest to see with the naked eye. Is the Milky Way with a wide, multicolored band It stretches in a large arc like a rainbow from the horizon to the opposite.
In addition, stargazers, both amateurs and professionals. A globular cluster may also be seen, a gravitational cluster of stars. Using only the naked eye to observe The telescope can also look at galaxies and nebulae, especially the Crux / Southern Cross constellation, the smallest of the 88 constellations.
To the east of the Southern Cross is the Coalsack nebula, which always has new stars. Not too far away, there was a cluster of jewell boxes, which were filled with about 100 red, white and blue stars glittering. Which we can easily see with a binocular
3. Deep space from the winter skies of the Northern Hemisphere.
The night is the longest in winter. This means that stargazers will have more time to admire the night sky. New star watchers may try to choose the night of the dark (New Moon) as the night to begin observing the sky. At the beginning of this year it seems February 11 will be a moonless night without the most disturbing moonlight.
One of the brightest objects from deep space Until easy to see even in the city These include the Pleiades, or what Westerners refer to as Greek mythology. “Seven Sisters” (Seven Sisters), just look to the south after the sun sets, you will be noticed immediately.
If anyone wants to see the galaxy Andromeda, our closest neighbor, our galaxy. Which is only 2.5 million light years away from the Earth to the remote areas of light pollution at night. And look to the west around the constellation of the same name Will see this spiral galaxy with the naked eye
4. Hunter Orion
Viewing the constellation Orion is a classic activity for all generations of stargazers. It is the most easily observed constellation in winter from both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. But we can only see the hunter upside down. Similar to doing somersault in a cartwheel position in the southern sky Instead of chasing animals like those seen in the Northern Hemisphere.
If you are in the southern hemisphere You can see the constellation Orion in the northwest. But if you’re in the northern hemisphere Huntress Orion will appear in the southwest.
This constellation is shaped like an hourglass. With the Orion’s belt, three brightly aligned stars at the neck-like part of the waist It also has the Orion nebula, which is less luminous than the belt.
On the shoulders of the Orion is a well-known star. For example, the red giant Betelgeuse and the blue star Bellatrix. At the foot of the Orion there is also the giant Rigel, another fiery blue-white star. with
5. China and the United States. Landing on mars
Important space exploration events to watch this year Is a spaceship from two great powers It is scheduled to land and begin exploration of Mars in the next few months.
Start the Perseverance Mission. (Perseverance) from NASA of the United States. It is expected to land on February 18 and will be guided by patrol vehicles, including helicopters, as a mobile science laboratory. To study the soil texture of Mars As well as look for traces of life in ancient and modern times. Along with testing various technologies in preparation for future missions that will have humans come to this red planet as well.
China’s Tianwen-1 is scheduled to land on Mars in April. In this mission, there will be vehicles to patrol and explore the underground water sources. Including preparing to store and send samples back to the world in the future This mission will make China a second nation. That has successfully landed and made observations on Mars from the United States
6. Meteor shower
When the earth moves along a trajectory At times, it will collide with dust particles left behind by comets or asteroids in the solar system. Caused a meteor shower when those debris passed into the Earth’s atmosphere and burned. If the meteor shower is many, dense and bright Will look dazzlingly beautiful like the fireworks
Dr Greg Brown, from the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Observatory in the United Kingdom, suggested that Choose a date to watch the meteor shower when experts predict it will be the most dense. By giving out to watch after midnight In the least disturbed light area
On May 4, the meteor shower Eta Aquariids formed by Halley’s Comet. Will be in the most beautiful and dense period After that, on August 11, the meteor shower of Percy. (Perseids) will appear But stargazers may have to wait until the end of the year on Dec. 13, the perfect night to watch the year’s most beautiful Geminids meteor shower. Because this meteor shower is caused by asteroids. Making it a variety of brightness and color according to the minerals contained in space rocks
The good news for meteor shower lovers is that There will still be another phenomenon to watch in a row. In the days following the New Year 2022, that is, the Quadrant Meteor Shower. (Quadrantids) there.
7. Full lunar eclipse
On May 26, the shadow of the world will once again cover the moon. Causing the moon to dim its light, causing a full lunar eclipse Which people in the surrounding Pacific coast will always notice
The best spot to see this lunar eclipse is the Hawaiian Islands. Because the moon will rise to the highest in the sky at midnight Hawaii. As for people living in other regions of the world, including Thailand Will be able to see only part of the lunar eclipse
8. Annular solar eclipse
On June 10, many people look forward to the annular solar eclipse, a phenomenon in which the moon’s shadow cannot lie completely over the sun. As the moon is further away from the sun And moved closer to the world, only 404,300 kilometers
What happened makes the sun look like “Ring of fire” (ring of fire) as the shadow of the moon moves across the center. Only the outer edge of the circle was still lit up. Unfortunately, this special annular solar eclipse is only seen in Canada, Northwest Greenland region. And the northeast of Siberia only
9.Saturn and Jupiter near Earth
When all the planets of the solar system orbit around the sun There will be periods when the Earth is in a position between the Sun and other planets on the opposite side (opposition).
This phenomenon will cause planets on opposite sides of the Sun. Move closer to the world as possible in the year. Allowing us to see clearly This year, Saturn is the closest to Earth on Aug. 2, followed by Jupiter closest to Earth on Aug. 20.
If you have a binocular or a telescope To shine at the equatorial sky in the late hours of about 1 o’clock on that day. You can see the bands of Jupiter and Saturn’s rings clearly.
10.Send the James Webb Space Telescope into operation.
Finally, the event that astronomers around the world have been waiting for. That is, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a newer technology that uses Hubble. To operate in space conquered after having to postpone several times This year, the launch of the rocket is expected to be launched on October 31.
The JWST camera is huge. Until the parts had to be folded out so that they could be loaded into a delivery rocket Therefore, it will take months to travel and unfold the components. After reaching the orbit
Many astronomers say that the JWST is not a new device to replace all Hubble. But it will allow us to advance the study of infrared astronomy. And can look deeper into the space Until the birth of stars and ancient galaxies Including the formation of planets and their evolution from the beginning of the universe
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