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Astronomy Calendar 2021: When to watch complete moons, planets, eclipses and meteor showers

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Get ready for a year loaded up with stunning motivations to gaze toward the night sky.

There will be full moons, meteor showers, shrouds and planets obvious toward the beginning of the day and night skies across the world in 2021.

Meteor showers

The Quadrantid meteor shower on January 3 commenced the first of 12 meteor showers across 2021.

The biggest impediment to having the option to see meteor showers that are just obvious from specific sides of the equator – aside from your area – is the splendor of the moon. The more full the moon is, the harder it is to see meteors streak across the sky.

There is somewhat of a stand by until the following meteor shower, the famous Lyrids in April. The Lyrids will top on April 22 and will be best found in the Northern Hemisphere – yet the moon will be 68% full, as indicated by the American Meteor Society.

The Eta Aquariids follow before long, topping on May 5 when the moon is 38% full. This shower is best found in the southern jungles, yet will at present deliver a medium shower for those north of the equator.

The Delta Aquariids are likewise best seen from the southern jungles and will top between July 28 and 29 when the moon is 74% full.

Curiously, another meteor shower tops on the very evening – the Alpha Capricornids. Despite the fact that this is a lot more fragile shower, it has been known to deliver some splendid fireballs during the pinnacle. Furthermore, it will be noticeable for those on one or the other side of the equator.

The Perseid meteor shower, the most famous of the year, will top between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere when the moon is just 13% full.

Here is the meteor shower plan for the remainder of the year, as indicated by EarthSky’s meteor shower standpoint.

  • October 8: Draconids
  • October 21: Orionids
  • November 4 to 5: South Taurids
  • November 11 to 12: North Taurids
  • November 17: Leonids
  • December 13 to 14: Geminids
  • December 22: Ursids

Full moons

Run of the mill of a typical year, 2021 will likewise have 12 full moons. (A year ago had 13 full moons, two of which were in October).

Here are the entirety of the full moons happening this year and their names, as per The Old Farmer’s Almanac:

  • January 28 – Wolf moon
  • February 27 – Snow moon
  • Walk 28 – Worm moon
  • April 26 – Pink moon
  • May 26 – Flower moon
  • June 24 – Strawberry moon
  • July 23 – Buck moon
  • August 22 – Sturgeon moon
  • September 20 – Harvest moon
  • October 20 – Hunter’s moon
  • November 19 – Beaver moon
  • December 18 – Cold moon

Solar and lunar eclipses

This year, there will be two obscurations of the sun and two shrouds of the moon – and three of these will be noticeable for some in North America, as indicated by The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

A complete overshadowing of the moon will happen on May 26, best noticeable to those in western North America and Hawaii from 4:46 a.m. ET to 9:51 a.m. ET.

An annular overshadowing of the sun will occur on June 10, obvious in northern and northeastern North America from 4:12 a.m. ET to 9:11 a.m. ET. The sun won’t be completely obstructed by the moon, so make certain to wear overshadow glasses to securely see this occasion.

November 19 will see a fractional shroud of the moon and skywatchers in North America and Hawaii will see it between 1 a.m. ET and 7:06 a.m. ET.

Also, the year closes with a complete shroud of the sun on December 4. It won’t be found in North America, however those in the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and southeastern Australia will have the option to spot it.

Visible planets

Skywatchers will have different occasions to detect the planets in our sky during specific mornings and nights all through 2021, as indicated by The Farmer’s Almanac planetary guide.

It’s conceivable to see the greater part of these with the unaided eye, except for removed Neptune, however optics or a telescope will give the best view.

Mercury will seem as though a splendid star toward the beginning of the day sky from February 28 to March 20, June 27 to July 16, and October 18 to November 1. It will sparkle in the night sky from January 15 to January 31, May 3 to May 24, August 31 to September 21 and November 29 to December 31.

Venus, our nearest neighbor in the nearby planetary group, will show up in the eastern sky on the mornings of January 1 to 23 and in the western sky at nightfall on the nights of May 24 to December 31. It’s the second most brilliant article in our sky after the moon.

Mars shows up toward the beginning of the day sky between November 24 and December 31 and will be obvious at night sky between January 1 and August 22.

Jupiter, the biggest planet in our close planetary system, is the third most brilliant item in our sky. It will be in plain view in the first part of the day sky between February 17 and August 19. Search for it in the nights of January 1 to 9 and August 20 to December 31 – yet it will be at its most brilliant from August 8 to September 2.

Saturn’s rings are just obvious through a telescope, yet the planet itself can in any case be seen with the unaided eye on the mornings of February 10 to August 1 and the nights of January 1 to 6 and August 2 to December 31. It will be at its most brilliant between August 1 to 4.

Optics or a telescope will help you detect the greenish gleam of Uranus on the mornings of May 16 to November 3 and the nights of January 1 to April 12 and November 4 to December 31 – however at its most splendid between August 28 to December 31.

Also, our most removed neighbor in the nearby planetary group, Neptune will be obvious through a telescope on the mornings of March 27 to September 13 and the nights of January 1 to February 23 and September 14 to December 31. It will be at its most brilliant between July 19 and November 8.

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Astronauts Confront Vision Challenges in Space with Upcoming Dragon Mission

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The primary priorities for the Expedition 72 crew on board the ISS on Tuesday were preparing cargo for a future voyage and safeguarding astronauts’ eyesight to maintain their health.

Microgravity Eye Health

Body fluids rise toward an astronaut’s head in the weightless atmosphere of space. This fluid movement puts pressure on the eyes, which may have an impact on vision and eye anatomy. NASA astronauts Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore tried a modified thigh cuff that stops these headward fluid movements in order to combat this. As NASA and its international partners prepare for lengthier journeys farther into space, researchers are keeping a careful eye on these changes to create strategies to safeguard eye health.

Getting Ready for Resupply

On Earth, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spaceship is preparing for the next resupply mission to the space station, which is scheduled to launch next week. NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit got ready for Dragon’s arrival, which will include a delivery of new station hardware and scientific equipment. After docking and then returning to Earth, Pettit started packing and arranging the goods that would be stored aboard Dragon. Hague received training on how to use instruments that will monitor Dragon’s autonomous approach and docking procedure.

Spacecraft Docking and Manoeuvre

However, Hague will take Williams, Wilmore, and Roscosmos astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on a brief ride onboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft to a new docking site prior to the supply mission blasting out toward the space station. On Sunday, November 3, the four will board Dragon. They will undock from the forward port of the Harmony module at 6:35 a.m. EDT and then navigate the spaceship to Harmony’s space-facing port for a docking at 7:18 a.m. The Dragon cargo mission’s forward port is made available by the relocation.

Earth Observations and Maintenance at Night

Gorbunov installed and turned on equipment to observe Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths following a training session on the exercise cycle of the Destiny laboratory module at the start of his shift. Ivan Vagner and Alexey Ovchinin, two of his fellow cosmonauts, collaborated on inspection and maintenance tasks in the Zvezda service module’s aft end.

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SpaceX launches the year’s 99th operational flight

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On Friday night, SpaceX successfully completed its 99th flight of the year with a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

At 7:31 p.m. Eastern time, a Falcon 9 carrying 20 Starlink satellites blasted out from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40.

The Just Read the Instructions droneship’s first-stage rocket completed a downrange recovery touchdown in the Atlantic on its seventeenth flight.

It was the 71st flight from the Space Coast in 2024, just one less than the record-breaking 72 launches in 2023. United Launch Alliance has launched the remaining ones, while SpaceX has flown all but five of those.

There have only been two Falcon Heavy missions this year, with the remainder being Falcon 9 launches.

Along with the other 18 from KSC, this was the 53rd launch from Cape Canaveral.

Together with the two Falcon Heavy missions, SpaceX has performed 33 missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this year, for a total of 97 Falcon 9 launches, including this one.

From its Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas, it has also launched three test flights of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy rocket, all of which have reached orbit.

Adding to the success of the March and June missions, last Sunday’s launch included the first on-target controlled landing of the second stage in the Indian Ocean and the first land capture of the Super Heavy booster back at the launch tower.

In 2023, SpaceX completed 98 operational missions, including 91 Falcon 9 and 5 Falcon Heavy missions. The company also attempted two Starship test flights, both of which ended explosively before reaching orbit, though one of them managed to reach space for a brief period of time before being destroyed by its flight termination system.

Officials from the business stated at the beginning of 2024 that it could reach 144 launches for the year, or 12 launches per month. However, weather and the three different groundings of its Falcon 9 rocket due to various problems have caused some obstacles to that pace.

This launch is only the sixth of October thus far. It flew nine times in September, eleven times in August, six times in July, ten times in June, thirteen times in May, twelve times in April, eleven times in March, nine times in February, and ten times in January.

Most of them have been for Starlink, which has launched over 7,100 versions since the first functional versions were sent up in 2019.

This marked SpaceX’s 67th Starlink launch in 2024.

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20 Starlink internet satellites are launched by SpaceX from Florida

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According to a summary of the SpaceX mission, it was the booster’s seventeenth launch and landing.

Meanwhile, the Starlink satellites were still being transported to low Earth orbit by the upper stage of the Falcon 9. If all goes as planned, it will deploy them there approximately 64 minutes after liftoff.SpaceX launched a new set of Starlink broadband satellites into orbit this evening, October 18.

At 7:31 p.m. EDT (2331 GMT) tonight, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft—13 of which were equipped with direct-to-cell capability—blasted out from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

About 8.5 minutes after takeoff, the first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth as scheduled, landing on the SpaceX drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, the new group will join the massive and constantly expanding Starlink megaconstellation, which presently comprises of over 6,400 active spacecraft. Of those satellites, about 230 are direct-to-cell vehicles.

Two-thirds of SpaceX’s 96 Falcon 9 flights flown in 2024 have been devoted to expanding the Starlink network. This year, the corporation has also launched three test flights of its Starship megarocket and two Falcon Heavy missions.

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