2019 astronomical events to look forward
New Delhi : The year 2019 is dotted with good number of astronomical events that are interesting and of course happening. However, the major meteor showers this year may be washed out by the Moon phases. Just take a look at the drop-down information which is worth sharing.
It is known to all that the New Year 2019 has started with the New Horizons mission, which had visited Pluto in 2015, flying past the most distant solar system object ever visited by mankind - the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule for "beyond the known world". Ultima Thule is just over 4 billion miles away, so far that light (and thus a radio signal) takes about 6 hours each way.
According to 2019 astronomy calendar, between January 1 and January 3, the Chinese Chang'e 4 rover should touch down on its mission to the far side of the Moon. This is the first mission to the far side, and it relies on an orbiter to relay radio signals to the lander. The target area is the South Pole - Aitken Basin, the largest, deepest impact basin on the Moon. It is 1,600 miles in diameter, and spans from about 18,000 feet below the mean lunar surface to a rim of peaks on its north side that are 24,000 feet above the surface.
At 9:20 pm PST on January 2, the Earth will be at its closest to the Sun (perihelion), at a distance of 91,403,554 miles.
The 2019 calendar also predicts that the total eclipse of the Moon will take place on January 20. The Moon will enter the Earth's penumbra, the lighter part of the shadow cast by the Sun, at 6:36 PM PST, and then the darker umbral shadow at 7:34 pm. The Moon will be totally within the umbra from 8:41 pm until 9:43 pm, and may look reddish as it bathes in the refracted light from all the sunsets and sunrises on Earth. That's the blood. It'll be super, because the Moon will be near perigee, and thus look a little bigger than average. And the Full Moon of January is often called the Wolf Moon.
The most super Moon of the year will occur on February 19.
On March 20 at 2:58 pm PDT, Spring will start for Santa Barbara with the Vernal Equinox, as the apparent motion of the Sun takes it northward across the projection of the Earth's equator.
On May 11, the world will celebrate the International Astronomy Day. Summer Solstice will be on June 21 at 8:54 am PDT. The Sun will be at its most northerly point in its apparent motions across the sky.
On July 4 at 3:11 pm PDT, Earth will be at its most distant from the Sun for the year (aphelion) at 94,513,221 miles.
July 20 will be the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, when humans first set foot on another celestial body.
The Autumnal Equinox will occur at 12:50 am PDT on September 23 as the Sun passes from north to south across the celestial equator.
On November 11 morning the Sun will rise at 6:29 am PST with the small black dot of Mercury already in transit across its face. Mid-transit will be at 7:20 am, and Mercury will exit the disk at 10:04 am.
Winter Solstice will be on December 21 at 8:19 pm PST. The Sun will be at its most southerly point in its apparent motions across the sky.
