Did you relish today ’s raresuper blue blood moon ? Well , if it ’s left you yearning for more astronomic event then fear not , because there ’s plenty more to front forwards to in 2018 .
This twelvemonth , like any other , has a host of eclipses , world events , and meteor showers for you to get excited about . And you do n’t need a telescope to see most of them . Just those two scope embedded in your skull will be all right . Your eye , I mean .
So , without further ado , let ’s take a feel at some of the most exciting outcome coming up this class . Thanks to our friends atSea and SkyandSky and Telescopefor the information on some of these events .
February
On February 15 , apartial solar eclipsewill be seeable in South America . This happens when the Moon shroud part of the Sun but not all of it . Southern Chile and Argentina will see up to 40 pct of the Sun obscured , and you’re able to also catch it from Antarctica – if you ’re making a trip there .
March
On March 7,Saturn , Mars , and Jupiterwill allbe visiblein the sky , with the Moon joining the political party on March 8 .
March 20 heralds theMarch equinoctial point , when the Sun shines immediately above the equator , signaling the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and settle in the Southern Hemisphere .
April
Peaking on the night of April 22 will be theLyrids meteoroid exhibitor . It will produce a few meteor an time of day , perhaps up to 20 , but a brightish Moon may scupper watching in North America before midnight .
May
On the night of May 6 keep an middle out for theEta Aquarids meteoroid shower , boasting up to 60 meteor per time of day . It ’s best pick up in the Southern Hemisphere , although you could spot up to about half that number in the Northern Hemisphere .
Jupiterwill attain its close point to Earth on May 9 . It ’ll be visible to the raw eye , but with binoculars you ’ll be able to tell apart its four big Galilaean moons ( Io , Europa , Ganymede , and Callisto ) . With a scope , you ’ll even be capable to spot the planet ’s bands of storm .
June
summertime begins in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21 with theJune solsticeas Earth ’s north pole is tilted to its maximum towards the Sun . For the Southern Hemisphere , it ’s the start of winter .
Saturnwill reach itsclosest pointto Earth on June 27 , seeable to the nude eye . With a telescope , you ’ll even be capable to pick out its rings , which will be angle by about 26 degrees to our line of sight .
July
There ’s anotherpartial solar eclipsein July too ( on July 13 ) , but it ’s only seeable in good order at the southern point of Australia and , again , Antarctica .
On July 27 , we get quite a bad event , when atotal lunar eclipsewill be seeable throughout Europe , Africa , Asia , and Australia . The Moon will choke into the coloured part of Earth ’s shadow , its umbra , turning it red as the Sun ’s light follow through our ambience .
Also on July 27,Marswill be at its faithful point to Earth . It will be whole light by the Sun , make this the upright time to view the Red Planet all year .
But that ’s not all ! On the night of July 28 , theDelta Aquarids meteoroid showerwill summit . Best interpret from the Southern Hemisphere , it usually produces up to 20 meteors at its peak – but a full Moon this yr could scupper views .
August
On August 11 , citizenry in Canada , Greenland , northern Europe , and northerly and easterly Asia will be treated to anotherpartial solar occultation . The Moon will encompass up to 68 percentage of the Sun on this occasion .
The night of August 12 will see thePerseids meteor showerproduce up to 60 meteors per hour . It can be seen from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres . Almost fresh ( dark ) Moon should provide for some decent observations .
September
On September 7 , the ice giant planetNeptunewill be at its close point to Earth , but you ’ll need a telescope to see it .
September 23 heralds the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere with theSeptember equinoctial point , as the Sun lead at once over the equator .
October
There ’s a small meteor cascade on October 8 , theDraconids , get only about 10 meteors per hr . It ’s best viewed in the evening .
But there ’s a bigger one on October 21 , when theOrionidsreach their peak , producing up to 20 per hour . A full Moon could queer efforts somewhat .
Uranuswill get hold of its airless item to Earth on October 23 , but like Neptune it ’s only visible with a telescope .
November
On November 5 , we ’ll see a imperfect display of theSouthern Taurids meteor exhibitioner , only up to 10 per hour , but there ’s always a possibility of a “ Taurid fireball swarm ” when slow - moving fireballs burn up in the atmosphere , so keep an center out .
TheLeonids meteor showerpeaks on November 17 , with up to 15 meteors per time of day . about every three 10 it produce century per hour , although we ’re not expecting that until the 2030s .
December
It might be potential to seeComet 46P / Wirtanenwith the naked center on December 12 , withsome predictionssuggesting it could be the brightest comet find out in the Northern Hemisphere for five years .
On December 13 , theGeminids meteor showerpeaks , which is normally the good shooting star exhibitor of the year with up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour .
It ’s the scratch line of wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere on December 21 , when the Sun reaches itsDecember solstice .
The last meteor rain shower of the twelvemonth is theUrsidson December 21 , with up to about 10 meteoroid per hour seeable .
