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ATLANTA — The night sky in 2024 will have plenty to offer stargazers.
A full moon and a meteor shower light up the sky. It is expected that colorful auroras will occur due to increased solar activity. And solar eclipse chasers have been counting down to 2024 ever since the Great American Eclipse in 2017. That’s because a total solar eclipse will cross the entire United States in April.
Many nights, there will be an opportunity to: discover different planets or Look for the International Space Station when orbiting the earth.
To safely view the total solar eclipse, prepare your telescope and binoculars, and don’t forget your eclipse glasses.
full moon and supermoon
According to , there will be 12 full moons in 2024, and the lunar events in September and October will also be considered supermoons. earth sky.
Definitions of a supermoon vary, but the term generally refers to a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and therefore appears larger and brighter in the night sky. Some astronomers claim that this phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90% of its perigee, the point of closest approach to Earth in its orbit.
According to , each month’s full moon is associated with a specific name. farmers yearbook. However, the full moon has many different names and meanings. various indigenous tribes.
The full moons for 2024 are:
- January 25th: Wolf Moon
- February 24th: Snow Moon
- March 25th: Worm Moon
- April 23rd: Pink Moon
- May 23rd: Flower Moon
- June 21st: Strawberry Moon
- July 21st: Back Moon
- August 19: Sturgeon Moon
- September 17th: Harvest Moon
- October 17: Hunter’s Moon
- November 15th: Beaver Moon
- December 15th: Cold Moon
solar and lunar eclipses
According to , there will be multiple solar eclipses in 2024, including two types of lunar eclipses and two types of solar eclipses. old farmer yearbook.
The most anticipated of these events is the total solar eclipse that will occur on April 8 and will be visible to people in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face.
A total solar eclipse will be visible to anyone who is within the path of the solar eclipse, or where the moon’s shadow completely covers the sun. Even people outside the total path can see a partial solar eclipse, where the moon obscures only part of the sun’s face.
A total solar eclipse will not be visible again across the continental United States until August 2044.
An annular solar eclipse will occur over parts of South America on October 2nd. This type of solar eclipse is similar to a total solar eclipse, but because the moon is at the furthest point from Earth in its orbit, it cannot completely block the sun. Instead, in an annular solar eclipse, the sun’s fiery light surrounds the moon’s shadow, forming a “ring of fire” in the sky.
Meanwhile, the penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible to many people in Europe, North Asia, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America from March 24th to 25th.
A lunar eclipse, in which the moon appears dark or dim, occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned and the moon is in Earth’s shadow. A penumbral lunar eclipse is more subtle and occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s outer shadow, or penumbra.
A partial lunar eclipse, in which the Earth moves between the sun and the full moon without being perfectly aligned, will be visible across Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America, and South America from September 17th to 18th.
check Date and time website Find out when each of these eclipses will appear.
solar activity and aurora
The Sun is expected to reach its solar maximum, or the peak of its 11-year cycle, in mid-to-late 2024.
When the Sun is active, it emits powerful solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or large clouds of ionized gas called plasma and magnetic fields that eject from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Solar storms generated by the sun can affect power grids, GPS, aviation, and satellites in low Earth orbit. These events can also cause radio interference and even pose a danger to human space missions.
of Space Weather Forecast Centeris operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, and closely monitors the sun and issues warnings and forecasts about solar activity that can affect Earth. Scientists are eagerly anticipating what they can learn about the sun’s activity by observing it during April’s total solar eclipse.
But a more positive side effect of increased solar activity is the aurora borealis dancing around the Earth’s poles, known as the aurora borealis or aurora borealis, or the southern aurora.
When particles energized by coronal mass ejections reach Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere and create different colored lights in the sky.
In 2023, a solar-induced geomagnetic storm could bring the aurora borealis to rarely seen locations, including southern parts of the United States such as New Mexico, Missouri, North Carolina, and California, as well as southeastern England and other areas. became. England.
Depending on your location, the Northern Lights may not always be visible overhead, but they create a colorful landscape on the horizon.
Meteor shower
The new year will soon begin with a meteor shower. The Quadriids meteor shower is expected to reach its peak between January 3rd and 4th. earth sky.
After the Quadriids meteor shower, meteor shower activity slows down a bit and the next meteor shower doesn’t occur until April. Fortunately, there are plenty of celestial events to anticipate during the long wait.
Below is a complete list of meteor showers occurring in 2024. American Meteor Society.
- Quadrant Meteor Shower: January 3rd-4th
- Lyrids: April 21-22
- Aquarius Eta: May 4th-5th
- Southern Aquarius Delta: July 30th-31st
- Alpha Capricorn: July 30th to 31st
- Perseids: August 12-13
- Draconid meteor shower: October 7th to 8th
- Orionid meteor shower: October 21st-22nd
- Southern Taurus: November 5th-6th
- Northern Taurus: November 11-12
- Leonid meteor shower: November 17th to 18th
- Geminid meteor shower: December 13th-14th
- Urus: December 21st-22nd