Top 10 Upcoming Astronomical Events Of 2013

By admin on March 6, 2013

At various points throughout the year, I have people asking me if I saw the meteor shower the night before. Almost every time, that question is the first time I even heard of said shower.

So this time, we’ve made a list of some of the most impressive astronomical events of the upcoming year. Many of these will be visible throughout the world, while some are specific to certain continents. You don’t have to have an interest in science to find these feats of the sky amazing, and hopefully this will help you avoid missing them.

10. LYRIDS METEOR SHOWER

Visible between April 16th and the 25th, but peaking between the 21st and 22nd, the Lyrids Meteor Shower takes place at the same time every year. There are usually between 10 & 20 meteors per hour, but there can be up to 100. The trails these meteors leave behind can last for several minutes. The meteors also cause minuscule flakes of comet dust to collide with the atmosphere at 49 kilometers per second, resulting in further streaks of light.

9. PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse is when the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, meaning that the moon enters the shadow cast by the Earth. April 25th will only be a partial eclipse, which means that part of the Moon will be in the Penumbra, where some sunlight will reach it (though less than usual,) and part of it will be in the Umbra, where no sunlight will reach it. This eclipse will last 27 minutes, and be visible in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The second of three Lunar eclipses due to take place in 2013, a Penumbral lunar eclipse, will occur on May 25th. The final lunar eclipse of the year will take place on October 18th, which will also be Penumbral.

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