Upcoming Events, SAAA Activities and Points of Interest -- Nov 2022 thru Dec 2023
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Nov 3 -- Taurids Meteor Shower Peak
Nov 6 -- Daylight Saving Time Ends - Set Clock Back 1 Hour
Mon, Nov 7 -- SAA Open Meeting, ASU Planetarium, 7pm
Nov 8 -- Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse
Nov 9 -- Uranus At Opposition
Thu, Nov 17 -- Leonids Meteor Shower Peak
A prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky.
Earth moves through the meteoroid stream of particles left from the passages of a comet. The stream comprises solid particles, known as meteoroids, ejected by the comet as its frozen gases evaporate under the heat of the Sun when it is close enough – typically closer than Jupiter’s orbit. The Leonids are a fast moving stream which encounter the path of Earth and impact at 72 km/s. Larger Leonids which are about 10 mm across have a mass of half a gram and are known for generating bright (apparent magnitude −1.5) meteors. An annual Leonid shower may deposit 12 or 13 tons of particles across the entire planet.
The Leonids also produce meteor storms (very large outbursts) about every 33 years, during which activity exceeds 1,000 meteors per hour, with some events exceeding 100,000 meteors per hour, in contrast to the sporadic background (5 to 8 meteors per hour) and the shower background (several meteors per hour).
Nov 23 -- New Moon
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Wed, Dec 7 -- Full Moon
Dec 8 -- Mars At Opposition
Dec 10 -- Holly-Days in the Park, 6:00-8:00pm, San Angelo State Park
Dec 13 - Geminids Meteor Shower Peak
The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a "rock comet" orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around December 4–16, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 local time. Geminids were first observed in 1862, much more recently than other showers such as the Perseids (36 AD) and Leonids (902 AD). -Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geminids
Dec 20 -- Winter Solstice, 21:48 UT
Dec 21 -- Mercury At Its Greatest Eastern Elongation (20 Degrees)
Dec 22 -- Ursids Meteor Shower Peak
The Ursids (URS) meteor activity begins annually around December 17 and runs for a week plus, until the 25th or 26th. This meteor shower is named for its radiant point, which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellation Ursa Minor. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursids
Dec 23 -- New Moon
Dec 25 -- Christmas Day
Dec 26 -- Mars Spring Equinox
Dec 29 -- Mercury Passes 1.4 Degrees from Venus
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Jan 1 -- New Years Day
Jan 3 -- Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak
The Quadrantids (QUA) are a meteor shower that peaks in early January and whose radiant lies in the constellation Boötes. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of this shower can be as high as that of two other reliably rich meteor showers, the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December, yet Quadrantid meteors are not seen as often as those of the two other showers because the time frame of the peak is exceedingly narrow, sometimes lasting only hours. Moreover, the meteors are quite faint, with mean apparent magnitudes between 3.0 and 6.0. --Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrantids
Jan 4 -- Earth at Perihelion
Jan 6 -- Full Moon
Jan 21 -- New Moon
Jan 22 -- Venus Passes 0.3 Degrees From Saturn
Jan 30 -- Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (25 Degrees)
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Feb 5 -- Full Moon
Mon, Feb 6 -- Quarterly Meeting, Angelo Astronomy, ASU Planetarium
Feb 20 -- New Moon
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Mar 7 -- Full Moon
Mar 14 -- Pi Day
Mar 20 -- Vernal Equinox
Mar 21 -- New Moon
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Apr 5 -- Full Moon
Apr 12 -- Yuri's Night: World Space Party
Apr 12 -- International Day of Human Space Flight
Apr 19 -- New Moon
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May 5 -- Full Moon
May 19 -- New Moon
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Jun 3 -- Full Moon
Jun 17 -- New Moon
Jun 21 -- Summer Solstice
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Jul 3 -- Full Moon
Jul 6 -- Earth at Aphelion
Jul 17 -- New Moon
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Aug 1 -- Full Moon
Aug 16 -- New Moon
Aug 30 -- Full Moon
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Sep 14 -- New Moon
Sep 23 -- Autumnal Equinox
Sep 29 -- Full Moon
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Oct 14 -- New Moon, Solar Eclipse
Oct 28 -- Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse
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Nov 13 -- New Moon
Nov 27 -- Full Moon
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Dec 12 -- New Moon
Dec 21 -- Winter Solstice
Dec 26 -- Full Moon
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2024
Apr 8 -- New Moon, Solar Eclipse