If you've been on this blog for more than a few seconds you'll probably know that one of the things I love the most is astronomy. The other night I was outside watching the International Space Station pass over when a group of people walked past, I told them what I was looking at and one of the ladies told me that seeing it had made her night!
It got me thinking though, that so many people are missing out on these awe-inspiring occasions simply because they've not thought to look for them themselves. Which is why I've decided to make it easier for those who want to see more of the spectacular shows that our universe puts on every year, by making a calendar!
Use this calendar as a guide to your sky over the next year, I'd recommend looking up more information about each event as it draws closer as some things (such as eclipses) cannot be seen from every location on earth.
If you've never seen a meteor shower before write it down on your new year's resolutions list right now because it is one of the most spectacular and breath-taking sights you'll ever see. Once again it's good to check how good viewing will be from your area but as a general rule I'd say definitely try to get out and see the Geminids and Perseids, the two best showers of the year as well as the Eta Aquarids if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. You can find all the information you need by doing a quick search.
Special Events This Year:
- The Transit of Mercury, May 9th: This is a rare event that last occurred in 2006, where Mercury moves directly in between the earth and the sun and will appear as a small black disk moving across the sun's face. It is obviously damaging to look directly at the sun so there's special equipment to help you view this event, if you can find a local astronomy club who have the right equipment I cannot recommend you try and view this high enough! Unfortunately the transit can't be seen from Australia but I did get to view the Transit of Venus in 2012 which was amazing!
- Juno reaches Jupiter, July 4th: The Juno spacecraft has been making its way to Jupiter for 5 years now and on or around July 4th it is expected to reach its destination. This isn't an event you can personally observe, but it's exciting nonetheless!
I hope you all lift your eyes to the skies a little more this year, and have a wonderful 2016.
x Erin
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Thankyou so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave a comment, I love reading them.
x Erin