Chinanews client, Beijing, October 31st (Reporter Shangguanyun) The Leonid meteor shower, the penumbra lunar eclipse...the sky in November this year, these wonderful astronomical phenomena will be staged in turn.

Especially the meteor shower, for astronomers, it is tantamount to a visual feast.

Data map: A meteor struck the night sky at Baotaba, Pu'an Town, Kaijiang County, Dazhou City.

Photo by Hongyan

Leo meteor shower, go see it?

  Among the celestial phenomena worth seeing, the Leonid meteor shower must have a name: it will reach its peak during the night of November 17-18.

The Leonid meteor shower has attracted people's attention very early, and is generally active in the late autumn season, and it is extremely large in mid-November each year.

  However, according to previous media reports, in recent years, the hourly flow of the Leo Meteor Shower has rarely reached more than 20 at its maximum, and it has gradually been forgotten by people.

It is estimated that by the end of this century, the Leo meteor shower may have a large-scale outbreak.

  Yuan Fengfang, the science director of the National Astronomical Observatory, explained in an interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com that light pollution will affect people's viewing of meteor showers. If you are in urban areas, you might only see some very bright meteors.

Going to the suburbs, in addition to seeing the Milky Way, you can also see more darker meteors.

  Specific to this Leonid meteor shower, if you are in a big city, you can witness about 2 meteors per hour in the latter half of the night.

At that time, the radiant point of the meteor shower (the point in the sky that looks like the origin of the meteor) will be above the southeast horizon.

If it is in a place with little light pollution, it is ideal to see about 15 per hour.

  Fortunately, this meteor shower coincides with the full moon.

Moonlight affects the viewing of meteors only in the first half of the night, so people still have plenty of time to watch the meteors.

Yuan Fengfang reminds: Please go to a more remote area for the best meteor shower viewing experience.

I have heard of a lunar eclipse, what is a "penumbra lunar eclipse"?

  A bright moon always entrusts people with unlimited reveries.

At the end of November, there is another celestial phenomenon worthy of attention: a penumbral lunar eclipse.

Data map: The moon rising in Beihai Park, Beijing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang

  For this, Yuan Fengfang gave a relatively popular explanation: the sun and the earth are both spheres, and the plane where the moon revolves around the earth and the plane where the earth revolves around the sun has a certain angle.

So most of the time, the three are not in a straight line.

  Therefore, when the moon turns to the other side of the earth opposite to the sun, sometimes lunar eclipses occur, sometimes no lunar eclipses occur, and sometimes penumbra lunar eclipses occur.

  She said that when the moon is in the penumbra of the sun, a penumbral lunar eclipse will occur. Part of the sunlight reaching the moon is blocked and most of it is not blocked, so the moon can only be seen darkened at a certain angle.

  The penumbra lunar eclipse will be gorgeous on November 30th.

However, given that the moon will rise after the start of the lunar eclipse, in most parts of China, only part of the lunar eclipse can be observed.

  "After sunset on the 30th, we saw the moon appear in the east. At this time, the full moon is actually undergoing a less obvious penumbra lunar eclipse. With good eyesight or shooting with a telephoto, the upper left corner of the moon is a little darker." Yuan Fengfang Say.

You can also pay attention to these celestial phenomena

  In addition to meteor showers and penumbral lunar eclipses, there are also other astronomical phenomena to watch.

  On the day of "Double 11" (that is, November 11), Mercury will usher in the last large distance in 2020, which is the first large distance in the east before sunrise.

  According to reports, Mercury's revolution period is only 88 days. For observers on Earth, when it reaches the maximum angular distance between the east and west of the sun in each cycle, it is a long distance.

  On the evening of November 19, there will be a "double star with the moon". The "double stars" that will appear this time are Jupiter and Saturn.

Jupiter is brighter today, while Saturn is relatively dimmer.

  "However, the double star companion moon is just a very ordinary celestial phenomenon. Jupiter and Saturn are very close now, so every month the moon will pass double stars (Saturn and Jupiter) and also pass other planets." Yuan Fengfang said.

Data map: On February 21, the weather in Kunming was fine. Around 19:00 in the evening, Venus and Mars staged a beautiful celestial phenomenon of "double stars with the moon" in the sky.

China News Agency issued Ren Dong photo

  For many people, Uranus is a less familiar planet, but recently there is a good opportunity to watch it.

After Uranus opposes the sun, according to current predictions, after sunset on November 1, Uranus will rise and be visible throughout the night. People will have plenty of time to observe Uranus.

  If there is no time on this day, or the observation conditions do not allow, don't worry.

During the period of weeks or even months before and after the planet's opposition, there will be a lot of time to appreciate the related astrology.

  Are you ready to watch these "astronomical movies" in November?

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