China News Service, Nanjing, January 3 (Xu Shanshan) According to the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at the beginning of the new year, the quadrant meteor shower will usher in its peak on the evening of the 3rd.
With the "Wishing Meteor" across the night sky, the curtain of the "Astronomical Theater" will begin in 2021.
The quadrant meteor shower, the Perseid meteor shower, and the Gemini meteor shower are also called "the three largest meteor showers in the northern hemisphere."
Compared with the other two major meteor showers, the peak period of the quadrant meteor shower is short, only 6 to 8 hours. The meteors in the group generally do not leave tracks in the sky, but very bright fire meteors often appear.
According to Hu Fanghao, an engineer at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the radiant point of the quadrant meteor shower is located in the constellation of the constellation Boves, below the handle of the Big Dipper.
On the evening of the 3rd, the moon's rising time was earlier than the radiant point's rising time, so moonlight has a greater impact on meteor shower observations. You can choose to face the moon during observation to avoid moonlight from entering the line of sight.
"Take Nanjing as an example, the moon rise time is 21:29, and the quadrant meteor shower radiant rise time is 23:18. You can choose to watch the meteor shower in the middle of the night." Hu Fanghao said.
In January, the "Astronomical Theater" has a series of good shows, and the best films continue.
In addition to the meteor shower, many wonderful astronomical phenomena such as Venus conjoining the moon, Mars conjoining the moon, Mars conjoining Uranus, and Mercury's eastward distance will appear in sequence, shining in the sky.
On January 12, a waning moon will "hold hands" with Venus in the light of dawn, and stage a romantic "star and moon fairy tale".
If the weather is fine, astronomers can enjoy the wonderful scene of "Xingyue Reunion".
It is worth mentioning that on January 21st, Mars will conjunct Uranus one after another.
After sunset, the naked eye can see the gibbous moon and red Mars "walking" in the night sky.
With the help of a telescope, Uranus can also be found between them.
On January 24, the mysterious Mercury will usher in the "East Distance" for the first time this year.
Because it is too close to the sun, Mercury is difficult to observe.
Only when the angular distance between Mercury and the sun reaches the maximum, the public can hope to see Mercury.
"You can look for Mercury at low altitude in the southwest after dusk." Hu Fanghao said that if the weather is bad that day, you can choose to observe in the clear night a few days before and after, or wait for the next opportunity.
Mercury's revolution period is only 88 days, and there are 6 to 7 "large distances" every year.
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