Aisay Nahi Chalay Ga 2 February 2017 | Bol TV | Special show on Bhensa Bloggers Pages
It"s time to get your binoculars at the ready, as February looks set to offer some stunning astronomical events to viewers around the world.
The coming month will feature meteor showers, eclipses of the sun and moon, and our lunar satellite posing with planets.
To catch a glimpse of the celestial events stargazers will need to be eagle eyed, but our calendar should help ensure nothing is missed.
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The coming month will feature meteor showers, eclipses of the sun and moon (pictured), and our lunar satellite posing with planets
YOUR FEBRUARY CALENDARFebruary 5 - Moon hides Aldebaran
February 8 - Alpha Centaurid meteor shower
February 10 - Lunar eclipse
February 15 - Moon joins Jupiter
February 20/21 - Moon meets Saturn
Feburary 26 - Solar eclipse
February 5 Moon hides AldebaranThis weekend, the moon will slide very close to Aldebaran a bright orange star that lies 66 light-years away.
Lucky viewers will see the moon fully block out the star, making the orange object briefly vanish behind the dark, unlit portion of the moon before reappearing an hour later along its lit side.
The best places to see the phenomenon will be Central America, northern parts of South America, the Caribbean, southern Europe, North Africa, and western regions of the Middle East.
For specific occultation times in cities around the world, you can check this table from the International Occultation Timing Association.
This weekend, the moon will slide very close to Aldebaran (pictured bottom left) a bright orange star that lies 66 light-years away
February 8 Alpha Centaurid meteor showerPeople across the Southern Hemisphere will be treated to a stunning meteor shower next week.
The Alpha Centaurid meteors will send shooting stars soaring over the skies in the predawn hours of the night.
It isn"t the most intense meteor shower, and the peak will see around five to 10 meteors an hour, radiating from the constellation Centaurus.
The meteor shower will send shooting stars soaring over the skies in the predawn hours of the night. Around five to 10 will be seen an hour (stock image)
Professor Martin Barstow, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "A good meteor shower is a spectacular sight.
"If you have clear skies, there are few better and easier ways to get an impression of the dynamism of the universe we live in, and how the Earth is directly connected to events in the rest of the Solar System."
February 10 Lunar eclipseOn February 10, the full moon will climb above the eastern horizon before undergoing an eclipse as it enters a shadow cast by the Earth.
A lunar eclipse will appear on February 10, when the full moon will climb aboveeastern horizon before undergoing an eclipse as it enters a shadow cast by the Earth. Pictured is a lunar eclipse in 2007
The moon will turn a darker shade of silver during the eclipse.
In Europe, Africa and western Asia, the event will be seen as the moon is in the southern sky late at night, while for those in North, Central and South America, the best views will be from the east.
During the lunar eclipse, the moon will gradually turn a darker shade of silver, as the Earth"s shadow passes over it
For viewers in the UK, the shadow will first cast over the moon at 22:34GMT, and will end at 02:53 GMT.
And for those in New York, the event will begin at 17:34 ET, and end at 21:53 ET.
To check if the lunar eclipse will be visible in your area, you can check the time and date site.
february 15 Moon joins JupiterJupiter"s prominence as the "morning star" will be hard to overlook on February 15.
The planet, which will appear as a bright star-like object, will align with the moon, as well as a blue-white star called Spica, which is part of the Virgo constellation.
For people in the US and Europe, Jupiter will rise roughly one hour before midnight, while for those in Australia the planet will appear in mid-to-late evening.
Jupiter will appear as a bright star-like object in line with moon, as well as a blue-white star called Spica, which is part of the Virgo constellation
February 20-21 Moon meets SaturnAs well as aligning with Jupiter this month, the moon will also meet with Saturn on February 20 and 21.
The cosmic duo will be easy to view in the pre-dawn hours, with Saturn appearing as a golden object next to the moon.
From mid-northern latitudes, Saturn will rise in the east about three hours before the sun, while in southern-latitudes it will rise around four hours before the sun.
Through a telescope you may even be able to spot the distinctive rings that circle the planet.
WHY ARE SOLAR ECLIPSES SO RARE?They have often been seen as a sign of an impending apocalypse or the anger of the gods, but the real reason for the erratic occurrence of solar eclipses on Earth may finally have been solved.
Researchers recently unravelled the mystery of why our Moon has a strange orbital tilt which causes it to pass between our planet and the Sun to cause an eclipse only occasionally.
They claim the Moon was jostled into its current position through a series of close encounters with large lumps of debris left over from the formation of the inner planets 4.5 billion years ago.
The satellites of most other planets tend to orbit in a path that is in line with the parent planet"s equator.
If the Moon orbited our own planet in a similar way, we would likely experience monthly solar eclipses as it passes between the Earth and the sun.
However, the moon orbits at an angle of 5 degrees off the Earth"s own orbital plane around the sun and spins on an axis that is actually tilted towards our own planet.
This results in a far less regular solar eclipses.
February 26 Solar eclipseWith a new moon appearing on February 26, people in South America and Africa will be lucky enough to see the lunar disc pass directly in front of the sun.
The moon won"t completely cover the sun, and a small halo of light will remain visible.
On February 26, a new moon will appear and pass directly in front of the sun, treating people in South America and Africa to a rare solar eclipse
The eclipse will begin in Chile, before moving through Argentina, and onto the south Atlantic.
It will touch down on the coast of Angola, before ending near the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo at sunset.
But there"s good news for you if you miss this solar eclipse, as a second eclipse is forecast to occur over the US in August.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4184692/Here-ultimate-guide-February-night-sky.html
