The highlights of year 2013 include two comets with the
potential of being impressive naked eye objects on the first and last quarter of
the year. Most of the comets are not bright enough to be seen by the unaided
eye and thus rare. In the last two decades, there have been only four bright
comets – Comet Hyakutake of 1996, Comet Hale Bopp of 1997, Comet McNaught of
2007, and Comet Lovejoy of 2011. This year’s comets, Comet PanSTTARS and Comet
ISON, could possibly be so bright with Comet ISON outshining the Moon.
Aside from the two would-be great comets, here are some of the most awaited sky events of 2013:
January 3-4
Quadrantid Meteor Shower
After the spectacle of New Year fireworks in the sky,
another show is yet to display on January 3 and 4. The first meteor shower of
the year, Quadrantids, was named after an obsolete constellation Quadrans
Muralis which was once located between the constellations of Bootes and Draco. This
shower display will offer up to 40 meteors per hour at their peak. The
Quadrantids meteors peak for a very short time, lasting only hours, so it is
advised to wait the whole night or after midnight and not miss them. They can be seen radiating
near the constellation Bootes and the Big Dipper, rising northeast in the sky.
The company of the waning gibbous Moon will make the faint meteors harder to
spot but this annual meteor shower might still give a decent show as it can
produce fireballs at above average hourly rates.
March Comet PanSTARRS
The comet C/2011 L4 or comet PANSTARRS (Panoramic Survey
Telescope and Rapid Response System) has a high chance of being a fine naked
eye object on March. A comet is composed
of rock and ice which vaporizes as it approaches the Sun. This causes the
comet to become brighter and produce a bright tail which always points away
from the Sun. Although not as
prominent as the much awaited comet ISON on November, comet PanSTARRS will
still be a fantastic sight for enthusiasts and can be a warm-up observation for comet
ISON. Because of the unpredictability of comets, expect Comet PANSTARRS to be
as bright as Vega particularly on March 9 as it enters perihelion – point where
it is nearest to the Sun.
Observe Comet PanSTARRS in the west as it gets brighter as
the Sun sets, leaving about an hour for a beautiful display before the comet finally
sets. And if the comet tail develops well, expect it to extend above the
horizon after the comet sets. On March 14, the crescent Moon will join the view
and rest near the comet tail.
March 28 Occultation
of Spica by the Moon
There will be many instances where Spica, the brightest star
in the constellation Virgo, will be occulted by the Moon this year. Occultation
is a phenomenon where an object is hidden when another object passes between it
and an observer. This time, the Moon will pass between us and the first
magnitude star Spica. The star will hide behind the Moon and will appear on the thin dark limb of the Moon. Lunar occultations are often
observed and timed by amateur astronomers to learn more about the topography of
the Moon.
In the Philippines, the most observable occultation of Spica
will be on March 28.
April 21-22 Lyrid
Meteor Shower
After a long calm night sky for meteor showers, another
shower is now ready for a show. This year’s Lyrid meteor shower might put
up a great display despite the presence of the waxing gibbous Moon. Lyrids offers up to 20 meteors
per hour at peak and can be best viewed hours after midnight and when the Moon sets. They can be seen
radiating from the constellation Lyra, at northeast near the Milky Way band. Occasionally,
the Lyrids intensifies and offers a meteor storm like the historical 700 meteors
per hour of Lyrids 1803.
April 25 Partial
Lunar Eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse, the first of the three lunar eclipses this year, will occur around 8PM UT on April 25. This event will be one of the
shortest partial lunar eclipses, lasting less than 30 minutes, with just 0.5 arc
minutes or about 0.3% of the Moon
entering the Earth’s umbra – darkest part of its shadow.
In the Philippines, only the penumbral eclipse can be
observed. This will cause a light dimming on the Moon as it enters the Earth’s
penumbra – the lighter shadow. The greatest eclipse will occur at around 4:09AM (PHT) on April 26. The remaining two lunar eclipses of the year, May and October penumbral
lunar eclipses, will not be visible in the Philippines.
April 28 Saturn at
Opposition
Saturn will be at its brightest and will appear much larger
when it reaches opposition – when the position of Saturn and Sun in the sky is
directly opposite and when it is closest to the Earth. Saturn will be seen
rising as the sun sets. This is the best time to take pictures of the stunning
planet with its rings.
May 5-6 Eta Aquarids
Eta Aquarid meteor shower usually produce about 10-20
meteors per hour at peak but can be unpredictable and reach a higher rate. They
can be seen radiating from the constellation Aquarius, just look at the east
from midnight to dawn. The crescent Moon will also give way for this
spectacular show.
May 10 Annular Solar
Eclipse
An annular solar eclipse will occur on May 10 and will be
visible from Northern Australia and Pacific Ocean. An annular solar eclipse occurs
when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun, allowing the Sun to
look like a ring when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun.
Observers from the southern part of Philippines can only
witness a partial solar eclipse. Just wait an hour or less after the sun rises.
Be careful in observing the eclipse and use proper viewing methods.
May 26 -31 Jupiter,
Mercury, and Venus Planetary Grouping
Three of the brightest naked eye objects in the night sky –
Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus – will cluster in the last week of May to put a
lovely view. These planets will be around 2 degrees away from each other
and can be seen just after the sunset. There will be around 30 minutes
leeway before the grouping set so watch out for the parade.
On May 28, the two brightest night sky objects (aside from
the Moon), Venus and Jupiter will shine very close together at only 1 degree
apart.
On May 31, the three can be seen lining up within 10 degrees
looking like a bigger and brighter version of Orion’s belt.
November 3 Hybrid
Solar Eclipse
A special type of eclipse will occur on November 3. Hybrid
solar eclipses are also called annular-solar eclipses. This kind of eclipse
occurs when the vertex of Moon’s shadow is near the surface of the Earth. Observers
from the central path of the shadow witness an annular eclipse, when the vertex
of the Moon’s shadow fell short in reaching the Earth. It will become total
when the vertex of the shadow eventually touches the Earth’s surface. This feature
is also caused by the topography of the Earth – having low and high land areas.
The path of the greatest eclipse will pass across the North
Atlantic and equatorial Africa. Sadly, this is another event that will be
missed by observers in the Philippines.
 |
| Comet C/1995 O1 or Comet Hale-Bopp (1997) (en.wikipedia.org) |
Nov 28 Comet ISON
Comet Hale-Bopp of 1997 will not be the brightest comet in
our lifetimes if Comet C/2012 S1 or Comet ISON, named after International
Scientific Optical Network, survives its close encounter with the Sun on
November 28 to 29. Comet ISON will be a naked eye spectacle for weeks from
November 2013 to January 2014 and it has a large potential of being so bright
that it can outshine the Moon.
Dec 13 Geminid Meteor
Shower
One of the most anticipated meteor showers, Geminids, seems
to be getting stronger every year. Geminids can offer up to 120 meteors per
hour at their peak and can be seen radiating from the constellation Gemini.
This years’ Geminids is best watched between midnight and dawn as the
waxing gibbous moon exits the night sky at around 3:30AM. This will give us
about 2 hours to enjoy a darker sky, thus a better show.
Prepared by Carlo Ray Selabao
Reference:
1 comment:
Great post; our "Top 100" for 2013;
http://astroguyz.com/2012/12/31/the-top-astronomy-events-for-2013/
Thanks,
Dave Dickinson
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