The year 2009 passed into history as the International Year of Astronomy, marking 400 years since the invention of the telescope by Galileo and his discovery of the moons of Jupiter. On the eve of New Year 2010, amateur astronomers across Nepal may want to take note of the most exciting celestial happenings to come.
Eclipses in 2010
After the midnight Blue Moon lunar eclipse on new year, there are one solar and one lunar eclipse in 2010. There will be an annular solar eclipse on 15 January. Annular eclipses are not total eclipses, the moon is a bit too far away to completely obscure the sun's disk. The eclipse will start at 12:23pm and end at 15:36pm, with the maximum eclipse at 14:10pm. A (partial) lunar eclipse will take place on 26 June.
Planet observing:
The little elusive planet Mercury will be seen in the evening after sunset in the west from late March to mid-April, mid-July to mid-August, and mid-November to mid-December. On 3 April 2010, Mercury and Venus will lie just three degrees apart (conjunction).
Venus returns as the evening star in February and will dominate the western skies after sunset until October. Besides the above conjunction, Venus also meets up with a few other planets.
Note
7 August, when Venus and Saturn are 2.8 degrees apart in the west-southwest at nightfall and 18 August, when Venus is 1.9 degrees from Mars in the same region.
Mars will be visible in the evening sky almost all year long, from mid-January to mid-December. Mars reaches its opposition on 29 January, around which time it will be at its biggest and brightest as seen from Earth.
Jupiter reaches its opposition on 21 September. It is up in the evening sky at the beginning of the year, January to mid-February, and again at the end of the year, from September into 2011.
Saturn reaches its opposition on 21 March. It moves into the evening sky in March and remains there until September, but with a limited view of its rings.
Meteors in 2010:
The best meteor showers are those that occur close to a new moon, which allows for darker skies and sightings of fainter streaks. One shower in 2010 fits that bill. The Perseid meteor shower peaks on 12 August, three days after a new moon. Perseid meteors can fall at the rate of 80 an hour.
Wishing you all clear skies and a very happy new year 2010 as this column bids its readers goodbye after four years.
