2013 was (supposedly) an awesome year for astronomy. I actually thought it should've been called the Year of Comets with 5 comets going past. 2013 also came in with two solar eclipses, one annular and a rare hybrid eclipse (the last hybrid solar eclipse prior to 2013 occurred in 2005).
Looking forward to 2014, here's what we got:
While not as eventful as 2013, 2014 does host some interesting events. Some of you may remember the Shoemaker-Levy 9 crash on Jupiter in 1994. That was the first time mankind had observed a comet crash on a planet. The Sliding Spring may also provide an equal and perhaps a better opportunity for us with the Curiosity rover still being on Mars and MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) probe being on Mars orbit by late September.
In addition to the Mars impact, predictions on 209/P tail crossing have estimated a meteor shower with about 100-400 meteors per hour. Would be quite spectacular.
That's all for now, and if you are interested in astronomical events, subscribe to EarthSky (https://www.facebook.com/EarthSky) and Astronomy Now (https://www.facebook.com/astronomynow) magazines (they also have RSS feeds and email subscriptions, if you are not on Facebook, still not a problem :) ).
Looking forward to 2014, here's what we got:
| Meteor Shower | Jan 3,4 | Quadrantids meteor shower. |
| Planetary Event | Jan 5 | Jupiter closest to earth. A 10x or higher binocular should be able to resolve the Galilean moons while giving a good photo op for the astrophotographers. |
| Comet | Mar 24 | Comet Holmes perihelion. In 2007 Comet Holmes had a major outburst. The comet may not be that prominent this time around. |
| Planetary Event | Apr 8 | Mars closest to earth. |
| Eclipse | Apr 15 | Total lunar eclipse. Unfortunately not visible to Sri Lanka. |
| Meteor Shower | Apr 22,23 | Lyrids meteor shower. |
| Eclipse | Apr 29 | Annular solar eclipse. Again, not visible to Sri Lanka. |
| Meteor Shower | May 5,6 | Eta Aquarids meteor shower. |
| Planetary Event | May 10 | Saturn closest to earth. A good photo opportunity for astrophotographers with a reasonably good angle of view of the Saturn's rings. |
| Comet | May 24 | Earth may cross the tail of Comet 209/P causing a massive meteor shower. |
| Meteor Shower | Jul 28,29 | Delta Aquarids meteor shower. |
| Meteor Shower | Aug 12,13 | Persids meteor shower. |
| Planetary Event | Aug 29 | Neptune closest to earth. Unless you have a very good telescope, don't bother :) |
| Planetary Event | Oct 7 | Uranus closest to earth. Again, you need a very good telescope to view. |
| Meteor Shower | Oct 8,9 | Draconids meteor shower. |
| Eclipse | Oct 8 | Total lunar eclipse. Viewable as a penumbral eclipse to Sri Lanka. |
| Comet | Oct 19 | Comet C/2013 A1 Sliding Spring; possible collision with Mars. |
| Meteor Shower | Oct 22,23 | Orionids meteor shower. |
| Eclipse | Oct 23 | Partial solar eclipse. Not visible to Sri Lanka. |
| Meteor Shower | Nov 5,6 | Taurids meteor shower. |
| Meteor Shower | Nov 17,18 | Leonids meteor shower. |
| Meteor Shower | Dec 13,14 | Geminids meteor shower. |
| Meteor Shower | Dec 22,23 | Ursids meteor shower. |
While not as eventful as 2013, 2014 does host some interesting events. Some of you may remember the Shoemaker-Levy 9 crash on Jupiter in 1994. That was the first time mankind had observed a comet crash on a planet. The Sliding Spring may also provide an equal and perhaps a better opportunity for us with the Curiosity rover still being on Mars and MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) probe being on Mars orbit by late September.
In addition to the Mars impact, predictions on 209/P tail crossing have estimated a meteor shower with about 100-400 meteors per hour. Would be quite spectacular.
That's all for now, and if you are interested in astronomical events, subscribe to EarthSky (https://www.facebook.com/EarthSky) and Astronomy Now (https://www.facebook.com/astronomynow) magazines (they also have RSS feeds and email subscriptions, if you are not on Facebook, still not a problem :) ).
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