Look to the Sky: Star Gazing opportunities in 2021

Here’s the thing, back-yard stargazing is free (maybe the cost of a pair of binoculars). There are some great star gazing opportunities for 2021. You don’t have to go too far from home to experience some of the most spectacular visions in nature. More over, you don’t need an advanced degree in astrophysics; or personally know Neil deGrasse Tyson to appreciate the awesomeness of the night sky.

As I was researching this post, I discovered that my area has an Astronomical society. While it would probably be awesome to participate in one of their gatherings, I’d feel like such a noob. My stargazing skills are LO-FI at best. So far, my telescope experience comes via the cheap back-yard model from Toys-R-Us that I got as a kid (I still have it in a closet somewhere).

You just know that there will be that “expert” with the $5000 telescope that’s going to sneer at my pedestrian skills. Honestly, I can ID maybe three constellations! Space.com has a nice article on affordable beginner telescopes. I may do some comparative shopping soon.

2021 isn’t predicted to be the year for more than one or two out of the ordinary events. Almost like the cosmos is breathing a collective “Ahhhhh…” in relief of the year that was!

Eclipses

Two noteworthy lunar eclipses are expected this year:

May 26: The total Blood Moon- this looks like the big one for ’21. This will be a supermoon (close to the earth) and can be viewed in western North America, western South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia

October 19: Partial eclipse- As it stands, this final eclipse of ’21 might not be as complete but it may be viewed over a wider geographical area in North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia

This year’s solar eclipses probably won’t come near the “Great American Eclipse of 2017.” Hopefully, you live in an area where you can experience one.

***I cannot stress this enough. Do not look directly into a solar eclipse!!! ***

• June 19: Ring of Fire- from Canada, into part of Greenland, and into Russia, you’ll see the sun as the awesome “Ring of Fire.” Large parts of Asia, Europe, and North America will see part of the sun blocked.
• December 4:  Total Antarctic: This would be amazing to see…if for no other reason than I’d be in Antarctica!! Gazers in Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia probably will see a partial eclipse.

Planets

I never get to see the planetary alignments. The HQ for TeamDLP sits snuggly in the woods. Most of these planetary events happen low in the night or early morning sky. To see them, you need a good view of the horizon (and/or the ambition to get up early in the morning).

• February 11:  Venus: Jupiter– SW horizon ~20-30 min pre-sunrise best in Southern Hemisphere. These two planets will be so close they might look like one big star unless viewed through some kind of magnifier such as a telescope or binoculars.
• March 9&10:  Triple formation- Mercury: Jupiter: Saturn– Above and to the left of the moon, you may see the three planets will be aligned diagonally. If you view through a telescope, you might see Saturn’s rings!
• July 12:  Venus: Mars– It will be best to look for these two planets just after sunset below the crescent moon.

Meteor Showers

The Perseid shower is something I’m looking forward to this year. Usually, in the nights leading up to the “big night,” I will see a few meteors shoot by. When peak night is predicted, it’s always cloudy or too moonlit to see too many. You really don’t even need to know where exactly the Perseus constellation is. Just pick a spot and look up.

• August 12&13:  Perseids– This year’s shower is expected to coincide with a moonless sky. Northern latitude gazers will catch a better view. Some just south of the equator may see a few meteors as well.
• October 8:  Draconids– This shower is associated with far North latitudes. Draco is a “polar” constellation extending across a large part of the Arctic Ocean.

Earthshine

This isn’t one of those celestial events that get a lot of notice.  Earthshine is something you’ve seen often when sunlight is reflected off the earth and illuminates a New moon. I’ve always been fascinated by the moon on those nights. Sometimes it seems like more details of the lunar surface stand out from the reflected light of a “Full Earth.”

NASA has a great explanation of the reasons behind earthshine. Their article goes into detail regarding the phenomena and why it is more pronounced in the northern hemisphere over the south.  The reflection tends to be brighter in the spring. As it turns out, the light is reflected at a greater intensity in the northern spring because of ice accumulation in the Arctic. I wonder if the decreasing ice sheet in the Arctic will lead to fainter earthshine in the coming years.

The best dates to see earth shine in the northern hemisphere this spring are April 8-9 and 15-16 and May 7-8 and 14-15.

The New Comet

The discovery of a new comet hasn’t made the news cycle too heavily yet. On January 3 of this year, Greg Leonard, an astronomer with the Mount Lemon Observatory in Arizona, spotted the comet. Currently, it is  between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. In his honor, the comet was named C/2021 A1 (Leonard). Yep, it’s not called “Leonard’s Comet.” They went all science and technology with the name.

We just might be able to see the comet (through binoculars) sometime in early December.  If you look to the Eastern horizon about 90 minutes before sunrise, near the tail of the big dipper, you may catch a glimpse of the comet.  The closest approach to Earth will be on December 12, 2021. After the 14-15, it becomes visible on the Southwest horizon just after sunset. Earthsky.org has some great images to orient you to the possible viewing spots.

the take home

There’s a year’s worth of reasons to get out and enjoy the night sky. For that matter, there will day-time event or two this year. It doesn’t take much equipment or training to have fun watching the stars. I have found a lot of low-tech guidance from Space.com and Earthsky.org, just to name a few of the great sites devoted to bringing the cosmos “down to earth.”

Grab a blanket, go out and enjoy!