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By Chuck McPartlin
Here is a small sampling of some the many astronomical events to look forward to in Santa Barbara in 2019. Unfortunately for us, the major meteor showers this year are going to be washed out by bright Moon phases. But, there’s plenty of other interesting stuff happening.
New Horizons
(Image credit NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)
The new year started out with the New Horizons mission, which had visited Pluto in 2015, flying past the most distant solar system object ever visited by mankind – the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule for “beyond the known world”. Ultima Thule is just over 4 billion miles away, so far that light (and thus a radio signal) takes about 6 hours each way. Because of the limited bandwidth of the 15 watt transmitter on New Horizons, the data collected from the flyby will take about 20 months to be downloaded to Earth. Expect the first really detailed images in February. Follow the mission at the New Horizons Mission page.
Even before February, we should find out whether Ultima Thule is a single peanut-shaped body or a close binary pair of objects. I’m partial to this mission, because some of the first hints of the size and shape of Ultima Thule were observed during its occultations of stars. I observe stellar occultations regularly for citizen science.
The Far Side of the Moon
(Image credit CASC)
Sometime between January 1 and January 3, the Chinese Chang’e 4 rover should touch down on its mission to the far side of the Moon. This is the first mission to the far side, and it relies on an orbiter to relay radio signals to the lander. The target area is the South Pole – Aitken Basin, the largest, deepest impact basin on the Moon. It is 1,600 miles in diameter, and spans from about 18,000 feet below the mean lunar surface to a rim of peaks on its north side that are 24,000 feet above the surface. That makes Mount Everest look small, but it’s easier to do on the Moon because of its lesser gravity, about a sixth of the Earth’s surface gravity.
There is no Dark Side of the Moon, but because its rotation is tidally locked to the Earth, we only directly see about 60% of its surface, and the other 40% is the Far Side.
At 9:20 PM PST on January 2, the Earth will be at its closest to the Sun (perihelion), at a distance of 91,403,554 miles.
Super Blood Wolf Moon
(Image credit John Boyd)
It sounds rather lugubrious, but it’s just headline-speak for a total eclipse of the Moon, visible from Santa Barbara in its entirety on the evening of Sunday, January 20. The Moon will enter the Earth’s penumbra, the lighter part of the shadow cast by the Sun, at 6:36 PM PST, and then the darker umbral shadow at 7:34 PM. The Moon will be totally within the umbra from 8:41 PM until 9:43 PM, and may look reddish as it bathes in the refracted light from all the sunsets and sunrises on Earth. That’s the blood. It’ll be super, because the Moon will be near perigee, and thus look a little bigger than average. And the Full Moon of January is often called the Wolf Moon.
Look for the northern part of the Moon to appear brighter than the southern part, which will be closer to the center of the umbra.
The most super Moon of the year will occur on February 19.
On March 20 at 2:58 PM PDT, Spring will start for Santa Barbara with the Vernal Equinox, as the apparent motion of the Sun takes it northward across the projection of the Earth’s equator.
International Astronomy Day
(Image credit Tom Totton)
Saturday, May 11 is International Astronomy Day. The Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit will be set up at the Camino Real Marketplace with astronomy activities during the day and a star party at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in the evening.
Summer Solstice for Santa Barbara will be on June 21 at 8:54 AM PDT. The Sun will be at its most northerly point in its apparent motions across the sky.
On July 4 at 3:11 PM PDT, Earth will be at its most distant from the Sun for the year (aphelion) at 94,513,221 miles.
July 20 will be the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, when humans first set foot on another celestial body.
The Autumnal Equinox will occur at 12:50 AM PDT on September 23 as the Sun passes from north to south across the celestial equator.
Transit of Mercury
On the morning of Monday, November 11, the Sun will rise at 6:29 AM PST with the small black dot of Mercury already in transit across its face. Mid-transit will be at 7:20 AM, and Mercury will exit the disk at 10:04 AM. You’ll need a safe solar filter, density ND 5 or greater, to observe the transit, and it will be hard to detect the small shadow of Mercury without a telescope. Check the SBAU website at sbau.org to find out where we will be with safely-filtered equipment, or find a live webcast. If you miss this one, you next shot from Santa Barbara will be on the morning of May 7, 2049.
Winter Solstice for Santa Barbara will be on December 21 at 8:19 PM PST. The Sun will be at its most southerly point in its apparent motions across the sky.
If you enjoy Astronomy, come out to one of the SBAU public star parties held each month, weather permitting: Second Saturdays at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Third Fridays at the Keck Observatory at Westmont, and Second Tuesdays at the Camino Real Marketplace. We host lots of other events, which you can find on our web page at www.sbau.org Across the USA, you can find astronomy clubs and events near you through the Night Sky Network at nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov
