WAUKESHA, WI – While America continues to distance itself socially, 2021 begins with the first major meteor shower, the Quadrantids, which will reach a peak over Waukesha this weekend. The shower has the potential to be one of the strongest of the year, but the window for maximum activity is short – only six hours – and if winter is to move into most of the country, it is necessary to to shower.
Peak activity takes place late at night on Saturday 2 January and early Sunday morning 3 January.
The quadrantids are a large meteor shower and sometimes provide 50 to 100 shooting stars per hour in a dark sky and are known to produce bright fireballs. As with all meteor showers, the Quadrantids can best be seen from city lights.
The Quadrantid meteorite mood is facing a waning moon of competition this year, according to Earthsky.org. But even with the moonlight, it is possible to catch fireballs. The Quadrantids began Sunday and last until January 10th.
There will be many other reasons to look at the night sky in 2021.
Meteor showers
Lyrids, April 21-22: This shower with an average strength of 10 to 15 shooting stars per hour and known for making fireballs, runs from April 16 to 30. For the best viewing conditions, go for an hour or two outside of sunset and dawn outside. . The Lyrid Meteorite Rain can produce rare bursts of up to 100 shooting stars per hour. The constellation Lyra, marked by the bright star Vega, is the radiant point for this shower.
Eta Aquariids, May 4-6: This meteor shower, which runs from April 27 to May 28, benefits the Southern Hemisphere. People in the northern United States may see only a few shooting stars from the meteor showers of the Eta Aquariid, while those in the southern United States may see 10 to 20 hours per hour. The American Meteor Society says they are fast and deliver a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs. The constellation Aquarius the Aquarius is the point of radiation for the shower. A waning crescent moon should not offer too much competition to see this meteor shower.
Delta Aquariids, July 27-30: Do not devote too much to these dates. The shower lasts from July 12 to August 23, but has a definite peak time. Like the Eta Aquariids in the spring, Delta Aquariid meteor showers favor the Southern Hemisphere, but aerial viewers in the tropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere can see 15 or 20 stars per hour. The best time to see it is during the preceding hours. Earthsky.org says the meteors, which apparently radiate from the constellation Aquarius to the Aquarius from near the star Skat (or Delta), are fairly consistent during late July and early August.
Alpha Capricornids, July 28-29: The Alpha Capricornid Meteorite Mood is active from July 3 to August 15. It is not a particularly strong shower, according to the American Meteor Society, and offers only about five shooting stars per hour. so many of the meteors are bright fireballs.
Perseids, 12-13 August: According to Sea and Sky, the Perseid meteor shower is considered the best meteor shower of the year. The shower, known for its bright meteors at a speed of about 60 per hour during the peak, lasts from July 17 to August 24. The shower can best be seen after midnight from a dark place. While the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, they can be seen from everywhere in the sky.
Draconids, October 8: The Draconid meteor shower differs from most in that it can be best seen in the evening, when the Draco the Dragon, the head of the constellation, stands highest in the sky while darkness falls. It is a short-lived shower that lasts from October 6 to 10. Almost dark skies offer the best viewing conditions. The shower is a sleeper and usually provides a handful of meteors per hour – but in rare cases, the dragon wakes up and spits hundreds of meteors per hour.
Orionids, October 20-21: The Orionid meteor shower is active every year from October 2 to November 7 and peaks between 10 and 20 meteors per hour. The moon will be full, so only the brightest can be visible. The Orionids, produced by dust particles left behind by the ancient comet Halley, apparently radiate from the constellation Orion, but can be seen everywhere in the sky. An almost full moon will interfere with the viewing, which is best in the preceding hours.
Taurids, 4-5 November and again 11-12 November: This is a prolonged small meteor shower that produces only about five or ten shooting stars per hour. This is unusual not only because of its duration – it lasts from 7 September to 10 December – but also because it consists of two different branches: the Southern Taurides, which peak on 4-5 November, and the Northern Taurides, which ‘ a peak of November has 11-12. The southern branch of the Taurid meteor shower is produced by the dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10, and the source of the northern branch is debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. Both streams are rich in fireballs. At its peak, a new moon will provide dark clouds. It looks like the shooting stars are radiating from the constellation Taurus, but you will be able to see them everywhere in the sky.
Leonids, November 16-17: The Leonid meteor shower, produced by dust grains left behind by the comet Temple-Tuttle, lasts annually from November 6 to 30. The Leonids have a cyclonic peak about every 33 years, when hundreds of meteoric hours can be seen – as last happened in 2001 – but it will be an average year with about 15 stars per hour at its peak. An almost full moon will be troublesome, but the Leonids are known for producing extremely bright stars that even bright moonlight cannot erase. The meteors apparently come from the constellation Leo.
Geminids, December 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower, which runs from December 4 to 17, is the best shooting star show of the year. Produced by debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, discovered in 1982, the Geminides produce about 50 to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at the peak. A rising moon on the peak will eliminate some, but they are so fertile and bright that you can still see. It looks like the meteors are radiating from the constellation Gemini, but you will be able to see them everywhere in the sky.
Ursids, December 21: The meteor shower from Ursid lasts from December 17 to 26 and always reaches the winter break. The Ursids are fairly calm, producing five or ten meteors per hour, but in rare cases can produce bursts of 100 or more meteors per hour. The meteors apparently come from the Ursa Minor constellation.
Volmane And Supermane
A Trifecta supermoons launches in April this year, when it will presumably be hot enough in most countries to comfortably look at these large, beautiful glasses.
What is a supermoon? As NASA explains, a supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth, at the same time it is full. The proximity to Earth – keep in mind that our planet and moon are still 226,000 apart at this point – makes the moon look a little brighter and larger than usual.
A seasonal blue moon is also coming up in 2021 – and that may not be what you think. In modern times, a blue moon is often defined as the second full afternoon of a given month. The definition is generally accepted; but in older customs a blue moon referred to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. NASA says this happens about every 2-1 / 2 years.
“With two decades of popular use behind it, the second (full) moon-in-a-month (mis) interpretation is like a genius that can not be forced back into the bottle,” said American astronomer Donald W. Olson in a 2006 column for Sky & Telescope magazine.
But, he noted, “it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
Here’s a little more blue moon trivia: there are about 29-1 / 2 days between full moons. For this reason, February never has a new moon under the modern definition of two full moons per month.
Moon lovers, here are some dates you need to know:
Jan, 28, full moon: Also known as the full wolf moon, the old moon and the moon after Yule.
February 27, full moon: also known as the full snow moon and the famine moon.
March 28, full moon: Also known as the full worm moon, the crow moon, the crescent moon, the juice moon and the solid moon.
April 27, supermoon: Also known as the full pink moon, the emerging grass moon, the growing moon, the egg moon or the fish moon.
May 26, supermoon: also known as the full moon planting moon and the milk moon.
June 24, supermoon: Also known as the full strawberry moon, the rose moon and the honey moon.
July 24, full moon: Also known as the full goat moon, thunder moon and hay moon.
August 22, full moon, blue moon: the full moon, also known as the full disturbing moon, the green wheat moon and the grain moon, is a blue moon under the earliest definition of the phrase, because it is the third of four full moons between summer solar eclipse and autumnal equinox.
September 20, full moon: Also known as the full harvest moon because it occurs near the autumnal equinox, but also known as the wheat moon.
October 20, full moon: Also known as the full hunter moon, the travel moon and the blood moon.
November 19, full moon: Also known as the full moon, the ice moon and the dark moon.
December 19, full moon: also known as the full cold moon, the long nights moon and the moon before Yule.
Solar and lunar eclipses
2021 will have some other notable events in the air:
May 26, total lunar eclipse: People living in western North America, across the Pacific, East Asia, Japan and Australia will see a total lunar eclipse, which occurs when the moon moves through the dark shadow of the earth . The moon gradually darkens and then acquires a rusty or blood-red color.
June 10, annular solar eclipse: An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is furthest from the earth and appears smaller and does not block the view of the sun, resulting in a ring of light around the dark moon. According to NASA, the northeastern United States, Europe and most of Russia will see a partial solar eclipse.
November 19, partial lunar eclipse: A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the partial shadow of the earth, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow or umbra. The moon becomes darker as it moves through this earth’s eclipse through the earth’s shadow. It will be visible in most of North America, as well as Eastern Russia, Japan, the Pacific, Mexico, Central America and parts of Western South America.
December 4, total solar eclipse: A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun and reveals the sun’s corona or outer atmosphere. The path of totality for this eclipse is limited to Antarctica and the southern Atlantic Ocean, but a partial eclipse will be visible throughout South Africa.