|
|
| The Top 11 for 2011 |
A four-planet conjunction, a possible outburst of a rare meteor shower and a total lunar eclipse highlight the New Year’s celestial calendar
By Alan Dyer
Venus shines brightly as a morning “star” this winter, and by spring, Saturn will be well placed for evening viewing. As Saturn departs the scene, Jupiter takes over as the primetime planet. Then, late in the year and late at night, Mars comes into view, approaching Earth for a March 2012 encounter. The year’s two main meteor showers, the Perseids of August and the Geminids of December, are both beset by a nearly full Moon. But October might see a rare outburst of the Draconids. No bright comets are expected in 2011. However, by year’s end, after spending the summer and fall trekking across the Milky Way, faint Comet Garradd (2009 P1), at magnitude 7, might be within range of binoculars, low in the western sky in Hercules.
Click on photos to enlarge.
All Diagrams Courtesy TheSkyX™/Software Bisque |
 Tuesday, March 15
Mercury meets Jupiter
As Jupiter sinks into the sunset glow, it meets Mercury, rising into the west for its best evening appearance of 2011, in late March. At their closest, on March 15, the two planets appear two degrees apart.
|
 Sunday, April 3
Saturn reaches opposition
Every year, Saturn reaches opposition (when it is closest to Earth), but in 2011, it begins to take on the classic telescopic view we expect of the ringed world, as its rings open up after two years of appearing nearly edge-on.
|
 Wednesday, May 11
Four planets cluster in dawn sky
Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter gather within 10 degrees of one another in early May, and on May 11, they lie within 6 degrees. The two brightest, Jupiter andVenus, are then just half a degree apart. What a pity that from Canada, as shown at right, the planets sit so low in our predawn sky. The solution? Travel south!
Another notable date is May 1, when the waning crescent Moon sits above Jupiter and Mars, which are then separated by just 20 arc minutes. The view at far right shows the scene from the latitude of central Chile, where the planets line up as high as they can get in the dawn sky. |
 Wednesday, June 1
Late-day partial solar eclipse
Northern Canada, Newfoundland (the view above is from St. John’s) and parts of Atlantic Canada see a tiny partial eclipse of the Sun in late afternoon or evening. This eclipse is not total from anywhere on Earth — there are no total solar eclipses in 2011, just four minor partial ones. |
 Friday, June 10
Saturn passes Porrima
Saturn passes less than half a degree south of the 3.4magnitude star Gamma Virginis, a.k.a. Porrima, famed for being a bright, equally matched but very tight double star. This will be an interesting telescopic pairing. |
 Wednesday, July 27
Moon joins Mars
Mars and the waning Moon pair up in the predawn twilight amid the rising stars of Taurus. From North America this year, the Moon doesn’t hide any planets, and this is as near as it will come to Mars. Look for the two worlds close to each other and to the Pleiades on the morning of June 28 as well.
|
 Saturday, August 6
Mars just misses M35
Get up early on the morning of August 6 or 7 to see Mars in the predawn sky passing just south of M35, the bright star cluster in Gemini. Mars appears low in the east for this close conjunction. |
 Saturday, October 1
Mars shines in middle of M44
The red planet takes a liking to star clusters this year. On October 1, Mars passes right through the middle of the Beehive star cluster, a.k.a. M44, in Cancer. This, too, is an early-morning event.
|
 Saturday, October 8
Meteor outburst?
Researchers predict an outburst from the Draconid (also called the Giacobinid) meteor shower, with rates possibly reaching up to 750 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, the gibbous Moon interferes, and the peak hour (20h UT) favours Europe and Africa. But this will certainly be a night to keep watch.
|
 Tuesday, November 22
Moon, Saturn and Spica line up
This dawn-sky conjunction sees the waning crescent Moon meet up with Saturn and the bright star Spica in Virgo, as the trio forms a neat line of celestial objects in the eastern sky.
|
 Saturday, December 10
Total lunar eclipse at moonset
The Moon undergoes a long and deep total eclipse on June 15, but only for the eastern hemisphere; North America sees nothing. Six months later, however, the Moon is totally eclipsed again in an event that is visible at dawn from western Canada as the Moon is setting; eastern Canada misses out entirely. From Manitoba, totality begins just as the Moon sets. |
|
|
|
