[시사뉴스 김도영 기자] According to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, this year, it is expected to see splendid space shows in the night sky, such as partial lunar eclipses, meteor showers, and Venus-Jupiter alignment phenomena. Representatively, on October 29th, you can see a partial lunar eclipse in which the moon is partially covered by the main shadow of the Earth, and in December, the Gemini meteor shower with good observation conditions appears.
◆ Comet in early February, space show highlights in the first half… “Brightest”
In January, you can see the Quadrantid meteor shower on the night of the 3rd and the dawn of the 4th, and you can see Venus and Saturn, Jupiter and Mars standing side by side in the southwestern sky on the evening of the 23rd during the Lunar New Year holiday. The Quadrantid meteor shower is called one of the three major meteor showers along with the Perseid meteor shower and the Gemini meteor shower.
The maximum time for this year’s Quadrant meteor shower is 5:40 am on the 4th, and the maximum number of observable meteors per hour is expected to reach 120. The Astronomical Research Institute said, “The maximum time is dawn and there is no moon all night, so the overall observation conditions are good.”
In February, you can see the brightest comet of the year. The comet ‘C/2022 E3 (ZTF)’, which has an expected brightness of 4 to 5 degrees, passes the closest place to the Earth (perigee) on February 2, and the comet is located near the celestial pole at this time, so the observation conditions are also very good. However, since there is a moon before and after perigee, the observation time is suitable after the moon sets or before the moon rises.
On March 2, it is expected that you will be able to see the ‘Venus occultation’ phenomenon only in Jeju. Venus, which entered the night region to the right of the Moon at 9:14 p.m. on this day, exited at 9:23 p.m. The altitude at which the occultation begins is about 4 degrees and at the end it is only 2.5 degrees, so it seems that observation will be possible only when the horizon is completely open.
On May 6, you can see a ‘penumbral lunar eclipse’, when the moon passes through the half shadow of the Earth. It starts at 0:12 am on this day, and you can see the moon at its darkest at 2:22:54, and the lunar eclipse ends at 4:33.
◆ “Don’t miss the Gemini meteor shower in December”… You can also see a partial lunar eclipse in the second half of the year.
On August 13 and 14, you can see the Perseid meteor shower, one of the three major meteor showers. Dust particles scattered through space by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle collide with Earth’s atmosphere. The maximum time for this year’s Perseid meteor shower is 4:29 pm on the 13th, but from the night of the 13th to the early morning of the 14th, you will be able to see quite a few meteors, according to the Astronomy Institute.
The 31st of the same month is the day when you can see the biggest moon in Korea. This is because the distance between the earth and the moon on this day is about 357,300 km, which is about 27,100 km closer than the average distance of 384,400 km.
If there was a semilunar eclipse in the first half of the year, a ‘partial lunar eclipse’ in which the moon is partially covered by the Earth’s shadow comes in the second half. The partial lunar eclipse, which begins at 4:34:30 a.m. on October 29, will see the full moon eclipse at 5:14:06.
The last of the three meteor showers, the Gemini meteor shower, is expected to be seen at dawn on December 15th. The Gemini meteor shower appears when the Earth passes through the area where the asteroid ‘3200 Peton’ is broken by the sun’s gravity and the remains remain. The maximum time is 4 am, and the maximum number of observable meteors per hour (ZHR) is about 120. It’s early morning and there’s no moon all night, so it’s a good environment for observation.