On the 4th of next month, the “quadrant meteor shower”… Next year’s solar eclipse observation is “impossible”
On December 14, 2018, the Gemini meteor shower was photographed from the night sky at Hwangmaesan County Park in Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do. Winner of the 2021 Astrophotography Contest (photographed by Yoon Eun-jun)
In October next year, a partial lunar eclipse can be seen in which the moon is partially covered by the main shadow of the Earth. On the night of the 3rd of next month, in a week’s time, we will be able to observe a meteor shower phenomenon in which shooting stars all pour into the night sky at once.
On the 27th, the Korea Astronomy and Space Research Institute announced the “Major Astronomical Phenomena of 2023”, which contains the same content. According to the Astronomy Research Institute, a “reflection lunar eclipse” will occur on May 6 next year as the moon passes through Earth’s penumbra. During a penumbral lunar eclipse, the shape of the moon remains the same, only its brightness dims slightly.
On October 29, a “partial lunar eclipse” occurs when the moon is partially covered by the Earth’s shadow. Right now, about 13% of the lunar area is covered from Earth’s view. A partial lunar eclipse can be observed from Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
On the other hand, the solar eclipse, when the sun disappears during the day, will not be visible in Korea next year. According to the Astronomy Research Institute, a solar eclipse will occur on April 20 and October 15 next year respectively, but it will appear in an area that cannot be observed on the Korean peninsula.
The three major meteor showers also occur as in previous years. A meteor shower is a phenomenon in which a large number of debris from a comet or the like enters the earth’s atmosphere and burns intensely.
The “dial meteor shower” should appear on the night of the 3rd and early morning of the 4th of next month. In this year’s Quadrantid meteor shower, up to 120 meteors per hour rained from the sky. The “Perseid meteor shower” appears between dawn on August 13 and 14, and the “Gemini meteor shower” appears on December 15.
In addition, on March 2 next year, Venus and Jupiter, the brightest planets in the night sky, and on the 24th of the same month, the moon and Venus can be closely observed.
Next year’s largest full moon will be visible between Aug. 31 and the early morning of Sept. 1, the Astronomy Research Institute added. The average distance between the earth and the moon is 384,400 km and at this time the moon approaches the earth up to 357,300 km, which is 27,100 km closer.
