These heavenly events should not be missed

Total lunar eclipses in May and partial solar eclipses in October celebrate the New Year for star lovers in Germany. On the other hand, one of the great streams of falling stars is rather modest.

2022 will come again with astronomical highlights: a full year Lunar eclipse On May 16, part solar eclipse On October 25 and opposing Mars on December 8, where it was full moon At the same time red planets Covered. The cover of the distant planet Uranus near the moon on December 5th is also a highlight. More about the sunAnd the moon and stars throughout the year:

sun path

The astronomical year 2022 begins on December 31, 2021 at 9.41 a.m. when the Sun in its apparent orbit reaches a position 280 degrees east of the vernal equinox. In the morning hours of January 4, the Earth passes the point of its elliptical orbit closest to the Sun, and at 8 am it is 147.1 million km from the glowing sphere of the Sun. Sunlight bridges this distance in eight minutes and ten seconds. On the Fourth of July, the Earth moves through its orbit point at its farthest point from the Sun. Then we are 152,104,000 kilometers from the Sun – it takes 17 seconds for sunlight to reach us.

Exactly at 4:33 p.m. on March 20, the sun crosses the celestial equator and changes from the southern celestial sphere to the northern celestial sphere. The vernal equinox occurs. The Sun reaches the height of its annual orbit on the 21st of June. The sun changes from an upward movement to a descending movement. In our latitudes, you will experience the longest day and the shortest night of the year. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets, and a polar day lasts 24 hours.

On September 23, the sun crossed the celestial equator again, this time in a southward direction. The autumnal equinox passes, and the autumnal equinox occurs. After that, the nights again become longer than the days with us. The sun sets at the North Pole and the six-month polar night begins. Finally, the sun reaches its lowest point of the year in winter – on December 21 at 10:48 p.m. In our latitudes, you will experience the longest night and the shortest day of the entire year.

Solar Eclipse in 2022

In 2022 there will be four eclipses, two partial solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses. While the partial solar eclipse of April 30 cannot be observed from central Europe, the partial solar eclipse of October 25 can be observed in the morning and noon in this country. The total lunar eclipse on May 16 can be observed in the early morning hours of central Europe in the first half. However, the moon sets before the middle of the eclipse. The total lunar eclipse of November 8 is still not visible in our regions.

Star meteor 2022

the majority shooting stars They can be seen in August and November. In addition to scattered meteors, swarms of falling stars appear more or less regularly when the Earth crosses a band of meteor stream. Basically: in the second half of the night, more meteors can be observed, as the Earth’s apex, the target point of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, reaches its highest position in the south at 6 AM. In a sense, you are moving face forward through space. Therefore, meteorite impacts are expected more frequently in the morning than in the evening.

August is the month of falling stars. The large number of meteors in the first days of August is due to the Perseiden current, the maximum activity of which is between August 9 and 13. Bright objects, called fireballs or bolts, are not uncommon. The maximum is expected at night from August 12 to 13. As the most beautiful and richest river of the year, the Perseids bring up to a hundred meteors per hour. Their origin lies with comets 109P / Swift-tuttle. Falling stars are very fast objects at 60 kilometers per second.

From November 13-30, Leonids will be in action in the morning sky. Your radiance lies in Leo about 10 degrees northeast of Regulus. The maximum is expected at night from November 16 to 17. This time, a rate of about 20 meteors per hour can be expected. Falling stars are very fast – about 70 kilometers per second. Leonids’ appearance is due to comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle. In some years, Leonids was especially active. In 2022, a rather modest activity of Leonid can be expected.

Seeing planets in 2022

The bright giant planet welcomes you at the beginning of the year Jupiter Star friends in the evening sky. Venus changes from the evening sky to the morning sky in the second week of January. Mars is also located deep in the southeast in the morning sky. And what will next year bring with the planetary tour?

Since it is the closest and smallest planet to the Sun, it is difficult to observe. It only appears for a few days at low dusk in the western sky or at dawn over the eastern horizon. In early January, late April and late December, the graceful planet appeared in the evening sky above the western horizon. At the beginning of October, Mercury provides a morning view: it appears as a pale spot of light at the beginning of dawn in the deep east.

On January 9th, Venus will overtake Earth in its inner orbit, changing from the evening sky to the morning sky. She plays her role as the Morning Star from mid-January to early October. On February 12, it shines at its fullest brightness in the morning sky. It eclipses the sun on October 22 and then reappears in the evening sky.

Mars is represented in the morning sky in the spring. By late autumn, the Earth will be all night, with noticeably increased brightness. In December, the reddish yellow planet is a clear and unambiguous star. Mars reached its shortest distance from Earth on December 1, at about 82 million km. Light from the planet reflected by the sun and radio waves from Mars rovers take 4.5 minutes to travel to Earth.

On December 8th, the red planet in the constellation Taurus is in opposition to the Sun. On this day there is a special event: Mars is covered with a full moon in the morning hours. A “Mars eclipse” occurs from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Jupiter rules the morning sky at the beginning of the year. On the fifth of March, it was in conjunction with the Sun and is still not visible. At the end of March, Jupiter appears in the morning sky. On September 26, it comes in Pisces in opposition or opposition to the Sun. This has reached the most favorable period of observation: visibility throughout the night, the smallest distance from the Earth and therefore the maximum brightness and largest apparent diameter of the planetary disk.

Saturn It is overtaken by the sun on February 4th and cannot be seen in the daytime sky. In March, the circular planet appears in the morning sky. On the 14th of August, in the constellation of Capricorn, it hits the Sun – and at a distance of 1,325 million kilometers, which is its smallest distance from Earth. The light covers this distance in an hour and 14 minutes. The circular planet is represented in the evening sky until the end of the year.

Gregorian year 2022

According to the Gregorian calendar, 2022 is a common year with 365 days. In some cultures, the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar is still used. Since March 1, 1900, it has been 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Thus January 14, 2022 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to January 1, 2022 in the Julian calendar. In the year 2100, a leap day was again excluded in the Gregorian calendar. The difference between the two calendars will then increase to fourteen days.

The Jewish year 5783 begins on September 25 at sunset. So the Jewish New Year falls on September 26, 2022. The Hijri year 1444 also begins on July 29 with sunset. So the first day of the Islamic year 1444 falls on July 30, 2022. The new year of the Chinese lunar calendar falls on February 1, 2022. On this day, the 39th year of the 79th cycle of the traditional Chinese calendar begins. It is the year of the tiger called “ren-yin”.

Jupiter is the guardian of the throne for 2022. The annual rulers can be the seven classic planets, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It was once believed that annual rulers would determine the general weather condition each year. From pure tradition, the ruler of the planets is still awarded for each new year, although it does not have a deeper meaning. It is still depicted on calendar coins and in some calendar writings.