Post by *Gypsy* on Feb 2, 2007 0:02:05 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]'07 offers plenty of sights for stargazers. Two total lunar eclipses, meteor showers on calendar:
As a new year arrives it brings with it a new set of wonders for anyone willing to step outdoors and look up.
Maryland's 2007 calendar for backyard stargazers includes two total lunar eclipses; a leisurely guided tour of four planets led by a May moon; striking assemblies of bright planets; and several fine meteor showers with no interference from the moon's glare.
The lunar eclipses are due March 3 and Aug. 28. Unfortunately, the March full moon rises already in full eclipse, while the August moon will set in full eclipse. We'll have to wait until 2008 to see a total lunar eclipse from start to finish.
No matter. Fair Luna will make it up to us in May, when she leads stargazers on a tour of Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter as the month glides by. Can't find Saturn? The moon will lead you there May 22.
If that doesn't work, wait until July 1, when a brilliant Venus will stand beside the ringed planet in the West, after sunset.
So you've never seen a meteor? Mark your calendar for the annual Perseid shower in August. The moon will be nearly new, so its glare won't dim the shooting "stars" in 2007. And astronomers say the Leonid shower in November will be the last one in this century that could produce a storm of up to 200 meteors per hour.
Please let us know if you hear anything else on this~
Have you ever saw a meteor shower?
[/glow]
As a new year arrives it brings with it a new set of wonders for anyone willing to step outdoors and look up.
Maryland's 2007 calendar for backyard stargazers includes two total lunar eclipses; a leisurely guided tour of four planets led by a May moon; striking assemblies of bright planets; and several fine meteor showers with no interference from the moon's glare.
The lunar eclipses are due March 3 and Aug. 28. Unfortunately, the March full moon rises already in full eclipse, while the August moon will set in full eclipse. We'll have to wait until 2008 to see a total lunar eclipse from start to finish.
No matter. Fair Luna will make it up to us in May, when she leads stargazers on a tour of Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter as the month glides by. Can't find Saturn? The moon will lead you there May 22.
If that doesn't work, wait until July 1, when a brilliant Venus will stand beside the ringed planet in the West, after sunset.
So you've never seen a meteor? Mark your calendar for the annual Perseid shower in August. The moon will be nearly new, so its glare won't dim the shooting "stars" in 2007. And astronomers say the Leonid shower in November will be the last one in this century that could produce a storm of up to 200 meteors per hour.
Please let us know if you hear anything else on this~
Have you ever saw a meteor shower?
[/glow]
