Spectacular events in store for stargazers in 2019

PUNE: “It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the Moon.” ― Galileo Galilei, The Starry Messenger, Venice 1610: “From Doubt to Astonishment.” The attraction for the celestial skies is age old. In the year 2019, skygazers are in for some good news.

While there are numerous events every month, there are some spectacular events in offing in 2019. There are a couple of lunar eclipses and thrice  the Sun would perform the disappearing act. Also, Moon will make an eye-close encounter with Jupiter; transit of Mercury; meteor showers and visibility of planets like Saturn, Mercury and Venus will give us a pack full of events to enjoy and study throughout the year. 

ECLIPSES
“Eclipses, lunar or solar are the best astronomical invents by the general public. The year 2019 brings three solar and two lunar eclipses. Of these, only one solar and one lunar eclipse would be visible in India,” said Arvind Paranjpye, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Nehru Centre, Mumbai.

He said, “The first eclipse of the year will be on January 6 but it will be a partial solar eclipse and not visible from India. The second solar eclipse will be on July 2 which will be a total solar eclipse. While the last solar eclipse of the year will be December 26 which will be the annular solar eclipse.” 

“An annular eclipse takes place when the Earth is rather close to the sun, and the Moon is a bit too far from the Earth. The sun does appear slightly larger and the Moon slightly smaller. The effect is Moon does not cover Sun completely and we see, as is often called, a ring of fire. This eclipse will be seen from Southern part of India,” he explained. 

Similarly, of the two lunar eclipses, the first one is on January 21 but will not be visible in India and the second one, a partial lunar eclipse is on July 17. “The eclipse starts at 00:11:45 IST with Moon entering into penumbral shadow of the Earth. It enters the umbral shadow at 01:31 hrs. Interesting to note here is that it will happen on the night of July 16. This entire eclipse is visible from India, provided monsoon clouds permit the observations. Duration of umbral phase is two hours and 58 minutes and the penumbral phase would be 5 hours 37 minutes,” he said. 

VISIBILITY OF PLANETS
Orbits of Mercury and Venus are inside the orbit of Earth and are alternately visible in morning or evening sky above the eastern or western horizon respectively. 

Mercury, with the smallest orbit is alternately visible every couple of months in the morning, just before the sunrise or soon after the sunset. In 2019, in the months of February, June and October, it would be spotted above the western horizon and in April, August, November and December it would be spotted at dawn, above the eastern horizon. At the latitudes of India, it can be easily identified. 

Venus, in the first month of the year 2019, will be visible at dawn above the eastern horizon. It then reappears above the western horizon at dusk in October.  Orbits of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are outside the orbit of Earth and these can be been seen all through the night during a certain period. 

Mars will be visible in the evening sky from January to July. It is then seen at dawn from October till December. 

Jupiter, as the year begins, will be seen in the morning sky. As the year progresses it would rise early, while around June 10, 2019 (a week up or down) will be seen all through the night. After that, it will be visible in the evening sky soon after the sunset. 

Saturn, from February 2019 onwards it will be seen in the morning sky. Like Jupiter, it would be rising early every day and by July 9 it will be seen all through the night. 

Zero Shadow Days, the days when the sun comes right overhead and for a few minutes it appears that our shadow has just disappeared, for Pune is on May 13 and June 30. For Mumbai it will be on May 15 and June 28.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2019
- On July 16, 1969, NASA astronauts lifted-off on humanity’s first mission to set foot on the moon. Exactly 50 years later, people will be able to watch the moon’s face darken during a partial lunar eclipse.
- A rare treat for sky-watchers on July 11, when the planet Mercury will glide across the face of the sun. 
- The year closes with an eye-catching close pairing between the waxing crescent moon and the planet known as the evening star. Urban sky-watchers under light-polluted skies will be able to witness it.