Astronomical Events for 2016

by: Dave Flynn

Here is a list of interesting astronomical events for 2016:

March 8 – Jupiter at Opposition.   Jupiter will be at its closest point to the Earth and of course will be fully illuminated. Brighter than any other time of the year it will also be visible all night long. Visible with even low power binoculars it will be a spectacular sight along with the four Galilean moons.

March 9 – Total Solar Eclipse. Always exciting but unless you live in the South Pacific you’re going to miss this one. The next one for the US will be Aug. 21, 2017.

March 23 – Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. Not a total eclipse as the edge of the earth’s shadow will cover the moon. It’ll get dark but not turn red like it does during a total eclipse. Visible mostly in the southern hemisphere but we’ll catch a bit of a show here in Santa Clarita between 2:30am and sunrise. Max at 4:50am.

April 18 – Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. Absolutely the best time to see the planet Mercury as it will be farthest from the sun in the evening hours.

May 6,7 – Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. A nice new moon will provide dark skies for a great show. Courtesy of Halley’s comet, you can expect up to 60 meteors per hour. Best viewed after midnight.

May 9 – Transit of Mercury. Probably the highlight of the year, we will be able to see the tiny planet mercury wander across the face of the sun. There will be another one in 2019 and then not again until 2039! Remember to use appropriate equipment and filters when looking at the sun!

May 22 – Mars at Opposition. Mars will be at its closest approach to the Earth. With a respectable telescope you can see ice caps.

July 4 – Juno Arrives at Jupiter. The latest of our deep space probes to reach the largest planet. NASA will likely be having a media blitz to celebrate this event.

August 12,13 – Perseids Meteor Shower. Brought to us by comet Swift-Tuttle this usually provides a spectacular show. We have a first-quarter moon which will set after midnight so best viewing will be in the early morning hours.

August 27 – Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. Happening just after sunset in the western sky it should be truly impressive as the two will be only 0,06 degrees apart.

September 1 – Annular Solar Eclipse. Once again, this one is for the nice folks in Africa while the rest of us here in the Santa Clarita Valley will have to enjoy it by proxy.

October 15 – Uranus at opposition. Neptune will be at it’s closest to the Earth. It’s a tricky target for most of us without really large telescopes however this night will be our best shot!

October 16 – Full Moon, Supermoon. Another one of those pesky supermoons that get everyone excited but have very little astronomical significance other than that the moon is at it’s closest to the Earth and happens to be full. There are two more happening this year on Nov 14 and Dec 14.

October 21,22 – Orionids Meteor Shower. Another pass through the junk left behind by Halley’s comet. The moon will be rising around around 11:15 that evening so will definitely wash out the after-midnight show but these are usually really bright meteors so it will still be a good show. Peaks of 120 meteors per hour have been seen.