Well, happy new year 5 days late. This note is from Canton, the fellow who maintains the astronomical events calendar on your phone or computer. I’ve just added all the meteor showers and grand celestial events for 2019. First up a total lunar eclipse on the 20th of this month!
If you see any errors, let me know and I’ll fix and update the calendar right away. Thanks for watching the skies with me,
– Canton
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth’s dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, South America, the eastern Pacific Ocean, western Atlantic Ocean, extreme western Europe, and extreme western Africa.
The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will appear to have an ultra-close encounter in the evening sky, coming within within 2.4 degrees of each other in the early morning sky. Look for this impressive sight in the east just before sunrise.