The next full Moon on January 20th, will feature a sunset total lunar eclipse visible across the islands. The eclipsed Moon will rise just as the Sun sets on the opposite horizon.
Total lunar eclipse August 28, 2007
The eclipse will be just underway as the Moon rises on the island of Hawaii, with the Moon rising at almost exactly 18:00HST and the total phase of the eclipse starting 41 minutes later. Maximum will occur at 19:12HST with the Moon 14° above the horizon.
Many references state that the eclipse will occur on January 21st, and it will, in time zones further east than us here in Hawaii. We are ten hours behind UT, thus it will be the evening of the 20th when the eclipse occurs in the islands.
An easy to view evening eclipse, no reason not to get out and view this one, no need for an alarm clock!
Perihelion occurs when the Earth reaches its closest distance to the Sun for the year.
It may seem odd to some the perihelion occurs in the middle of winter. One must recall that the distance from the Sun is not the cause of our seasons, that is the effects of axial tilt.
2019 is looking to be a pretty ordinary year for events, with a few decent events to look forward to. The highlights will be a sunset total lunar eclipse on January 20th, the η-Aquariids meteor shower in early May, a transit of Mercury in November, and a nice set of planetary conjunctions in the sunset and sunrise.
Andrew Unger beside the 20″ Obsession while waiting for properly dark skies at Kaʻohe
There are dozens of posts scheduled here on DarkerView to remind my readers of these and many more events before they occur. Frankly, I need the reminder myself. Stay tuned for all of the great events the sky of 2019 will offer us.
The remainder of this post is a quick summary of the events our sky has to offer in 2019.
Today Saturn passes through superior conjunction, rounding the far side of the Sun as seen from our earthbound vantage point.
Saturn on April 15th, 2016
Saturn will re-emerge in the dawn sky towards the end of the month. Look for the planet low in the glow of dawn, rising higher each day. It will swing by Venus on February 18th, passing about a degree away.
Saturn will pass through opposition on July 9th, crossing into the evening sky.
The Moon, Venus and Aldebaran join up for an evening conjunction
The year begins with a nice pairing of a 17% crescent Moon and a brilliant Venus just 2° apart before dawn tomorrow on New year’s Day. Jupiter and Mercury are also visible in the glow of sunrise below the pair.
The month of January will feature a clutch of bright planets in the dawn. Mercury will disappear into the sun’s glare to be replaced by Saturn emerging from superior conjunction mid-month, joining Venus and Jupiter.
The first meteor shower of 2019 is the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. The Quadrantids are a reliable shower, producing 60-120 ZHR, one to two meteors per minute. The Quadrantids are named for the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, now part of the constellation Boötes.
A pair of Leonid meteors streak through Orion
Unlike other showers where activity can occur for days or even weeks, the Quadrantids have a sharp peak, activity falls off rapidly on the preceding and following nights, or even a few hours away from the peak. Thus it is important to observe the Quadrantids quite near the peak prediction.
This year’s peak is calculated for January 4th at 02:20UT, this would be January 3rd at 16:20HST, well timed for observers in Europe, not favorable for observers in these islands. For northern observers the radiant is circumpolar, thus the shower is observable all night long. Given our 20° latitude here in Hawaii the radiant does not rise until 01:30HST, thus observations must wait until well into the morning hours.
New Moon on January 6 creates optimum viewing conditions for the expected Quadrantid maximum on January 4. For many northern hemisphere sites, the shower’s radiant is circumpolar, in northern Boötes, from where it first attains a useful elevation after local midnight, steadily improving through till dawn. The 02h UT timing for the peak will be favourable for European longitudes. The λ⊙ = 283 . ◦16 maximum timing is based on the best-observed return of the shower ever analysed, from IMO data collected in 1992, as confirmed by radio results in most years since 1996. It also coincides with the closest approach to the stream calculated by Jérémie Vaubaillon (λ⊙ = 283 . ◦17). The peak is short-lived with an average duration (full width at half maximum) of about four hours. Hence it can be easily missed if the observer is located outside the “main observing window” – IMO 2019 Meteor Shower Calendar
Watching meteors requires no more equipment than your eyes and a dark sky, and can be enjoyable for just about anyone. While most observers in the northern hemisphere must endure winter conditions to observe this shower, in the islands we have the option of observing from somewhat warmer locations. I think this year’s Quadrantids deserve an early wake-up and a trip into the dark!
