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Spring
March
3, May 24, July 17-18 - Occultations of the star Antares.
This ruddy, first-magnitude star will be hidden three times
for parts of North America in 2005. The March event involves
a last quarter Moon and favors central and western regions
before sunrise. The May occultation will be visible across
the lower 48 states and southern Canada during the predawn
hours, but the Moon is practically full. The July opportunity
will be accessible only across the southern U.S., though elsewhere
Antares and the 85% waxing gibbous Moon will appear to come
tantalizingly close to each other.
April
8 - Partial Eclipse of the Sun. This event will be visible
only across the southern half of the United States. An unusual
annular-total eclipse will occur chiefly over the South Pacific
Ocean, coming to an end toward sunset over Panama, Colombia
and Venezuela. In the United States, this is primarily a late-afternoon
to early evening eclipse, with the Moon appearing to take
a relatively small "bite" out of the Sun's lower limb.
April
24 - Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon. This minor lunar eclipse
will be visible across much of North America. The Moon begins
to enter the Earth's outer penumbral shadow at 2:50 a.m. CDT,
but the best time to look will be from about 4:30 a.m. until
around 5:20 a.m., when a slight charcoal shading may be evident
along the Moon's upper edge. Maximum eclipse occurs at 4:55
a.m. when 89% of the Moon's diameter will lie inside the penumbra.
For those in the eastern U.S., however, the Moon will either
stand very low above the western horizon, or may have already
set.
Summer
June
23-29 - Planet trio. The three planets that will cluster
to within 5 of each other, low in the west-northwest evening
twilight are Venus (magnitude -3.9), Saturn (+0.2) and Mercury
(-0.2). Between June 23 and 29, these three will fit within
a circle measuring just 5 across, the smallest circle (1.4)
occurring on June 26. As such, their rapidly changing night-to-night
positions relative to one another should be most fascinating
to watch. Individual conjunctions include Venus and Saturn
(1.3 on June 25), Mercury and Saturn (1.4 on June 26), and
Mercury and Venus (a mere 0.1 on June 27). A drawback for
observers will be that these three planets will be visible
for at best for only about an hour after sundown before they
start getting too low to the horizon to be readily observable.
Also during this time frame, take note of the "Twin Stars,"
Pollux (+1.2) and Castor (+1.6) of Gemini, which will be positioned
roughly 6 to 10 above and to the right (west-northwest) of
the trio.
August
11-12 - Perseid Meteor Shower. The year 2005 should be
a good year for the Perseids because the bright first quarter
Moon will set just before 11 p.m. leaving the sky dark for
the prime meteor-watching hours of early morning. A very good
shower such as this will produce about one meteor per minute
for a given observer under a dark country sky. Any light pollution
or moonlight considerably reduces the count. Typically during
an overnight watch, the Perseids are capable of producing
a number of bright, flaring and fragmenting meteors, which
leave fine trains in their wake, making for an exciting night
for those who plan to spend a summer's night camped out under
the stars.
Autumn
October
17 - Partial Eclipse of the Moon. Admittedly, this really
isn't much of an eclipse. The western U.S. and Canada will
see the umbral phase in its entirety (4:34 to 5:33 a.m. PDT),
though the central states will get views of the opening stages
before the Moon sets. At maximum, a whopping 7 percent of
the Moon is within the Earth's dark shadow.
October
and November: The Autumn of Mars - Shining like a star
with a yellowish-orange hue, Mars can vary considerably in
brightness and this characteristic will be clearly demonstrated
through much of 2005. While initially not much to look at,
this year will evolve into a splendid year for observing Mars.
It will be closest to the Earth on October 29 when it will
be just 43.1 million miles away. It arrives at opposition
to the Sun nine days later on November 7. While not as close
an approach as its previous two favorable oppositions (in
2003 and 2001) such a close approach this year will still
loan itself to making Mars appear exceptionally brilliant.
Indeed, through much of the fall, Mars will outshine Sirius
(the brightest of all stars) and during most of October and
November it will rival even Jupiter (the planet normally second
in brightness only to Venus).
Winter
December
25 - Occultation of the star Spica. A celestial Christmas
gift for those living in the northwestern United States and
western Canada. Observers will be able to watch as a fat crescent
Moon hides this bluish first magnitude star about 60 to 90
minutes before local sunrise. |
