This meteor outburst / storm happened in 1925, 1935, 1985, and most recently in 1995. There’s debate as to whether or not anything spectacular will happen tonight. If we’re lucky, between 100 and 1,000 meteors per hour are expected during this event that might last somewhere between 15 and 40 minutes.
Because the event is so short-lived, folks in the western USA will be out of luck. If you live in the middle or eastern North America, South America, Europe or Africa, be sure to look up! You could witness the event of a lifetime…
Look in the direction of Monoceros, „The Unicorn”.
A conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be visible on November 24. The two bright planets will be visible within 1.4 degrees of each other in the evening sky. Look for this impressive sight in the western sky just after sunset.
Hello, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Canton (canton@gmail.com) will be adding additional 2020 calendar events (meteor showers, etc.) during the last week of 2019. Feel free to email him any suggestions.
If you added this ICS calendar feed as a „subscription” instead of a one-time import, then new events should automatically flow into your calendar once they are made av
ailable. Moon phases are already in place.
Was this calendar helpful to you? Visit https://cantonbecker.com/astronomy-calendar/ to see how you can support this project for free.
The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. Unfortunately the nearly full moon will block out many of the meteors this year, but the Geminids are so bright and numerous that it could still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The shower runs annually from December 17-25. It peaks this year on the the night of the 21st and morning of the 22nd. This year we have great viewing on account of the waning crescent moon. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
This marks the beginning of winter (in the northern hemisphere) and the beginning of summer (in the southern hemisphere.) The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a minimum for the year. Of course, daylight saving time means that the first Sunday in April has 23 hours and the last Sunday in October has 25 hours, but these human meddlings with the calendar and do not correspond to the actual number of daylight hours.
If you life in the southern hemisphere, this is your Summer Solstice, celebrating the longest day of the year.
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/WinterSolstice.html