Future Astronomical Events List

[Frank Ryan]

Following on from Daves Mercury transit dates, I was putting together a list
Of future events and trying to "rate" them in terms of importance.
Eg
Solar Eclipse ***** star
Conjunction * star
Etc. And more importantly!!!
A "BEST PLACE TO SEE" needs to be there.
It's a given it'd probably be cloudy here so even or meteor showers
I was thinking. What the hell. Booked well in advance we could see most events cheaply enough. We just need to PLAN

It's messy and only a really rough draft.
Maybe we can add to and update this all of us?

Anyway here's the small bit I have so far
Others are welcome to hijack this and add away!!


2012

Nov. 13: Total eclipse of the sun (Oz) best place to see.

Dec. 13-14: Geminid meteor shower. Best place to see?

2015

total solar eclipse, which will take place on March 20, 2015

April 4 of that year with a total lunar eclipse visible in North America, South America, East Asia, and Australia.

Aug. 12: Perseid meteor shower

September 28 sends us our second total lunar eclipse of the year, which will be visible in most of North and South America, Africa, Europe and west Asia. 

October 11 has the planet Uranus at opposition

2015 Mar 20 09:46:47 Total 120 1.045 02m47s Iceland, Europe, n Africa, n Asia 
[Total: n Atlantic, Faeroe Is, Svalbard]






2013

Saturn at opposition
April 28, 2013
Saturn should be clearly visible through a telescope in the skies above Britain as this ringed planet makes a close approach.




2016

March 9, 2016. This will afford viewers a much more comfortable setting — the south Pacific Ocean and parts of Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo and the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera.

[Dave Lillis]

Frank, I like it !!!!
I didnt realize the 2015 solar eclipse was over svalbard!!!,,,
and how's this for a challange, typical temperatures for that time vary between -30 to 0 with an average of -15, bring it on !!
It requires more investigation regarding climate, but I think the prospects are better there then in the faroes.
you could make a week out of it, go explore the place and find some polar bears. there is feck all to do on the faroes except killing whales....


also the geminid shower for 2012, if its predicted to be a strong shower, a cheapo ryanair flight to somewhere in europe might suffice.

[Frank Ryan]

Meteors 2012

Aug 12/13
And when we say August 12 or 13, we mean the morning hours after midnight — not that night. The waning crescent moon will rise around midnight, only somewhat obscuring the Perseid display during the shower’s actual peak. The moonlight shouldn’t be so overwhelming as to ruin the show. These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero. You don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower because the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower, and often peak at 50 or more meteors per hour in a dark sky. The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. These meteors are often bright and frequently leave persistent trains. Starting at mid to late evening on the nights of August 11/12 and 12/13, watch for the Perseid meteors to streak across this short summer night from late night until dawn, with only a little interference from the waning crescent moon.


Image Credit: Jimmy Westlake
October 7, 2012 Draconids
The radiant point for the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky. That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls. Unlike many meteor showers, the Draconids are more likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour. With no moon to interfere during the evening hours, try watching at nightfall and early evening on October 7 and 8.

October 21, 2012, before dawn. Orionids
With the waxing crescent moon setting before midnight (on October 20), that means a dark sky between midnight and dawn, or during the best viewing hours for the Orionid meteors. On a dark, moonless night, the Orionids exhibit a maximum of about 15 meteors per hour. These fast-moving meteors occasionally leave persistent trains and bright fireballs. If you trace these meteors backward, they seem to come from the Club of the famous constellation Orion the Hunter. You might know Orion’s bright, ruddy star Betelgeuse. The radiant is north of Betelgeuse. The Orionids have a broad and irregular peak that isn’t easy to predict. More meteors tend to fly after midnight, and the Orionids are typically at their best in the wee hours before dawn. The best viewing for the Orionids in 2012 will probably be before dawn on October 21..

November 4/5, 2012, late night November 4 until dawn November 5 South Taurids
The South (and North) Taurids are perhaps best suited to die-hard meteor aficionados. The meteoroid stream that feeds the Taurids is very spread out and dissipated. That means the Taurids are extremely long lasting (September 25 to November 25) but usually don’t offer more than about 7 meteors per hour. That’ll be true even on the South Taurids’ expected peak night of November 4 (before dawn November 5). The waxing crescent moon sets at early evening, leaving a dark sky for the South Taurid meteors, which are expected to produce the most meteors in the wee hours just after midnight on November 5.

November 11/12, 2012, late night November 11 until dawn November 12 North Taurids
This shower is long-lasting (October 12 — December 2) but modest, and the peak number is forecast at about 7 meteors per hour. Typically, you see the maximum numbers at around midnight to 1 a.m., when Taurus the Bull moves nearly overhead. This year, the thin waning crescent moon won’t rise till close to dawn, leaving a long dark night for these rather slow-moving but sometimes bright North Taurid meteors. you might even see some Taurid fireballs. The greatest numbers of North Taurid meteors come just after midnight on November 12..

November 16/17, 2012, late night November 16 until dawn November 17 Leonids
Radiating from the constellation Leo the Lion, the Leonid meteor shower is famous. Historically, this shower has produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history — at least one in living memory, 1966 — with rates as high as many thousands of meteors per hour. Indeed, on that beautiful night in 1966, the meteors did fall like rain. Some who watched the shower said they felt as if they needed to grip the ground, so strong was the impression of Earth plowing along through space, fording the meteoroid stream. The meteors, after all, were all streaming from a single point in the sky — the radiant point — in this case in the constellation Leo the Lion. Leonid meteor storms sometimes recur in cycles of 33 to 34 years, but the Leonids around the turn of the century — while wonderful for many observers — did not match the shower of 1966. And, in most years, the Lion whimpers rather than roars, producing a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour. Like most meteor showers, the Leonids ordinarily pick up steam after midnight and display the greatest meteor numbers just before dawn. In 2012, however, the waxing crescent moon will setting at early evening, leaving a dark night for Leonid meteor shower.

December 13/14, 2012, late night December 13 until dawn December 14 Geminids
The final major meteor shower of every year (unless one surprises us!) is always the December Geminid shower, often producing 50 or more meteors per hour. It is a beloved shower, because, as a general rule, it’s either the August Perseids or the December Geminids that give us the most prolific display of the year. Best of all, the new moon guarantees a dark sky on the peak night of the Geminid shower (mid-evening December 13 until dawn December 14). But the nights on either side of the peak date should be good as well. Unlike many meteor showers, you can start watching the Geminids by 9 or 10 p.m. local time. The peak might be around 2 a.m. local time on these nights, because that’s when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world. With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for watching the grand finale of the meteor showers. Best viewing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on December 14.




Geminids would be the one to go to as there's a new moon!
But where!?!?!?

[Dave Lillis]

I'd only ever bother with the geminids and perseids, the rest are usually non events unless for some reason one of the obscure ones is peaking high.
I set up a list of every meteor shower out there a few months ago
http://www.shannonsideastronomyclub.com ... howers.htm

Travelling for the geminids, well, in the past I would have said it was not worth it, but how could i forget the huge shower you and I saw 2 years ago, never seen the likes of it. Look at any part of the sky and within 10-15 seconds a meteor would pass by, amazing. !!!
Where is a good question, maybe somewhere south, maybe link up with Aster for it, a few days away to Barcelona again, they would probabily travel inland for it, out of the city. They have good weather, speak good english, we get on with them, dont need to bring equipment, I cant think of a better location tbh.

[Frank Ryan]

So after getting let down yet again by the weather I think I REALLY want to look at traveling to see the Geminids. Spain with Aster is a good option. We'd need to check where they would suggest (gotta be DARK!) and what the past weather was like.
I'll contact the lads over there to see do they have anything planned or any suggestions.
Other than that, I'm scratching my head to think of where else would be a good option.

[Frank Ryan]

The 2015 eclipse is either gonna be seen by us in Faroe or Svalbard.

Weather for both:

Faroe:

http://weatherspark.com/averages/28836/ ... ands-Vagar




Svalbard:
http://weatherspark.com/averages/28884/ ... -Jan-Mayen



So yes Svalbard has slightly better odds.

You can fly to both Faroe & Svalbard very easily and not too expensive at around €700


Svalbard airport (Longyear) is located very close to the central line,
not exactly on it but only loosing 2 seconds of totality is a good trade off
between being lucky where you stand or having to trek over dangerous
open frozen wilds on snowmobiles keeping one eye on the eclipse and one eye out for polarbears! (I'm not kidding either)

Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Airport,_Longyear

Website:
http://www.avinor.no/en/airport/svalbard


There are 7 hotels in Longyearbyen and they all look great:
http://www.booking.com/city/no/longyear ... 6b8;dcid=1

Prices for some are for the room and can sleep up to 5 so
there is the possibility of making accommodation cheaper by staying as a group.

Well lads.
I'm 99% sure I want to travel to Svalbard to try and see this eclipse.
I'm 100% sure I do not want to be driving up to the
North on the day of the eclipse under a blanket of cloud moaning about
not taking the chance to go see it.

What do ye think? Anybody interested?

[Tom Walsh]

Hi Frank,
I'd be up for it no bother, the only issue I would have is sharing a room with a large group of people! I drew the short straw last time sleeping by the kitchen table.

[Frank Ryan]

Good man Tom.
Yea, I'm not a big fan of having to bunk down with the troops either
because basically I'm getting very old and cranky and like my comfort.

TBH, I've always wanted to go to someplace like this.
Terry and I have been looking at the cruises in the fjords in Norway and
they look amazing but they are pure holidays.
This trip will be pretty tough going. Especially because of the length of time
we will be spending outdoors.
But hey! We're Irish.. this should not be an issue. (more of an issue for our equipment I'd say. Batteries, freezing lenses, focusers, electronics..and what not..)

[Frank Ryan]

Svalbard Longyear Takeoff Cockpit B737

http://youtu.be/t58AbGd2Vd0


Joanna Lumley made a doc about the N Lights a few years back
and went there....

Funny.. a friend of mine goes there every now and again with work
and says exactly that 'the first breath of air you take after getting off the plane feels like your swallowing knoves'

[Frank Ryan]

Excerpt from the Rules for visiting Svalbard from the Tourism Board & Governor of Svalbard.

5. It is prohibited to lure, pursue or otherwise seek out polarbears in such a way as to
disturb them or expose either bears or humans to danger.

6. Do not leave the settlements without a suitable gun,
and experience in using it.


If you have to shoot the bear
If an aggressive bear attacks with no sign of being scared away by warning shots, shoot with the aim to kill.



http://www.visitnorway.com/upload/PDF/. ... albard.pdf

[Dave Lillis]

haha, cant wait to see your gun there Frank,
I saw Lumleys program, it was very good !
I deffo want to go, I think we need to book things soon if we want to have any chance of getting places.
Flights will be limited, so will be hotels, its not like we can drive there from anywhere.

[Frank Ryan]

Yes we need to try and book or bribe NOW!

Oh and the Geminids...
If I had a spare grand I'd be going here heartbeat!
http://www.astro-trails.com/itinerary/g ... eor-shower
650 for the tour & 360 for the flights

Is there a budget way to see this!?

Active: December 4–17;
Maximum: December 13, 23h30m UT (λ⊙ = 262.2°); ZHR = 120;

Peak is at 11:30. Not ideal but close to midnight.

[Tom Walsh]

So looking forward to this one! So how do we proceed?

[Frank Ryan]

I guess we need to contact the hotels and see can or are they taking bookings for then.