Meteor Shower Prospects for 2011 & Other Astronomical Highlights

2011!!! Where does the time go? It seems like almost yesterday we were worried about Y2K. Now we’re into the second decade of the second millennium. Where has the time gone?

While we seem to fill every waking moment with important activities, I trust you will take a time-out from your busy schedule in 2011 to enjoy some of the finer astronomical events that will grace our (hopefully) cloud-free skies.
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that my January submission highlights the meteor shower prospects for the coming year, plus a few additional celestial events. Obviously some years are better than others. Unfortunately 2011 won’t be one of the better ones.

The best meteor shower of the year will be the Quadrantids, which will peak on the night of January 3-4. This title usually goes to the August Perseids or the December Geminids, but moonlight will severely affect those shooting star displays in 2011. The Moon will be New during the Quadrantid peak, so observers in a dark sky could potentially see up to 100 meteors per hour. The predicted peak is for 8:00 pm on the 3rd for us on the eastern seaboard.

Unfortunately the radiant point, not far from the end star (Alkaid) of the Big Dipper’s handle, is very low above the north-east horizon during the early evening hours. This scenario will certainly reduce the number of meteors seen. As the radiant rises higher into the sky throughout the night (it will be at its highest elevation just before dawn), an observer might still see an increase in the number of meteors. The Quadrantids are often blue and frequently blaze more than halfway across the sky at 25.5 miles per second.

The Quadrantids have a very sharp peak, perhaps lasting only an hour or two. So if you are not diligent or the cold forces you indoors early, you could miss the best performance of this display. Regardless, please remember to dress warmly and keep any light pollution source from destroying your dark adaptation. All you need are your eyes to enjoy this beautiful shooting star display.

While a few of the remaining 2011 meteor showers are not drastically affected by moonlight, their peak numbers are not spectacularly noteworthy. Unfortunately more than half will be threatened by varying degrees of interfering moonlight. A quick glance at the chart below highlights those instances.

Clip and save this 2011 meteor shower prospects chart and use it to plan your observing schedule for the coming year. I will highlight the specifics of each shower in my monthly columns throughout the year. Good luck with your meteor observing efforts.

In addition, on January 1st, Saturn rises just after midnight. It will still be a few months until we can observe this magnificently ringed planet at a “reasonable” hour of the evening, but it will be well worth the wait. On April 3rd Saturn will be at opposition. That is, it will be opposite the Sun in the sky and will rise at sunset. A couple of hours later it will be well placed for observing. At that time Saturn’s rings will be tilted nine degrees south from the horizontal, thereby providing us a view of the northern face of this beautiful feature. By the end of the year that angle will increase to 15 degrees. The planet will indeed be the focus of many telescopes dotting the Rhode Island landscape. It is a sight not to be missed.

Further, while there are six eclipses in 2011 (four partial solar and two total lunar), we will not be able to view any of them from here in Southern New England.

In conclusion, if you want to get close-up views of the Moon, planets and other celestial objects, please visit the facilities at Seagrave Memorial Observatory (http:/www.theskyscrapers.org) in North Scituate and Ladd Observatory (http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Physics/Ladd/) in Providence. While it can be quite cold observing in these unheated domes, these facilities do remain open year-round provided snow or ice does not force closures. Please check their respective websites for any cancellation notices before venturing out for a visit. Currently the winter hours are 7-9 pm.

Despite the less than favorable Moon phases for many of 2011’s meteor showers, let’s hope that on their individual peak nights of activity we can catch a glimpse of at least one or two of them over the course of an evening. And cross your fingers for favorable weather during the Quadrantids, the best meteor shower of 2011.

Happy New Year!