From the rare alignments of stars and planets to the jaw-dropping comets and meteors to
come, today we look at Astronomical Events That Could Happen In Your Lifetime.
Number 10. Total Eclipse of the Sun Solar eclipses aren't particularly rare, as
the moon at least partially blocks the light of the sun every 18 months on average. However,
a total eclipse happens a bit less often as viewing their occurrence hinges heavily on
your personal location. Most areas of the world will see this type of eclipse as partial,
but certain regions will be able to view it in all its glory...with protective lenses,
of course. The next total solar eclipse is slated for December 14th, 2020, but would
only apply to parts of the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Southern Africa, most of South
America, Antarctica, and those traveling or located throughout the Pacific, Atlantic,
and Indian Oceans. Fear not, though, for total eclipses will occur for other parts of the
planet every one to two years for the foreseeable future!
Number 9. Leonid Storm Each year, the Leonid meteor showers rain
down across the sky, typically throughout the days of November, peaking midway through
the month. On average, anywhere from 5 to 15 meteors can be seen raining down from the
heavens per hour during the shower season. But every 33 years or so, this number increases
drastically. What is normally a gentle, sporadic drizzle of meteoroids transforms into a torrential
downpour of meteoric debris , cranking up to more than a thousand meteors per hour!
These meteoroids are the product of a massive comet called Tempel-Tuttle passing through
our solar system. As it traverses space, the heat of the sun causes frozen gases within
the comet to evaporate, jettisoning off meteoric chunks in its wake. The resulting stream of
galactic debris forms the Leonids and each year, the Earth passes through it. When the
planet passes through a relatively fresh stream of cometary shrapnel, this results in the
outburst of a meteor storm. The last time the Leonid meteor storm occurred was in 2002,
however the most impressive instances of this phenomenon happened in 1966 according to records.
The next Leonid storm is predicted to occur in 2034, but interference from Jupiter's orbit
may cause the event to be imperceptible to the majority of Earthlings.
Number 8. Joining of the Giants Among the trillions of stars that checker
the night sky, some of the brightest entities seen from Earth are actually planets. Spotting
them on any given night isn't always easy, and it's especially rare to see multiple planets
from your vantage point. In the case of Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets of our
solar system, this actually happens once every 20 years. Luckily for us, the next time these
two will meet, or as astronomers call it, have a conjunction, will be December 21st
of 2020! As the pair of giant planets converge, their slow but steady path already puts them
in view of current stargazers. When viewed at the right time, interested parties can
even see the moon pass between Jupiter and Saturn simultaneously! But in December of
2020, the fated pair will be virtually atop one another from Earth's perspective, an occurrence
that won't happen again until 2040. It's recommended to witness the conjunction event with a telescope
as the sight is even more impressive when able to see the moons and rings of Saturn
and Jupiter as well. Jupiter will be especially easy to spot as it's the brightest planet
in our solar system, and during their joining in 2020, the constellation Capricornus will
be situated just above the two cosmic spheres.
Number 7. Extra Long Eclipse As mentioned earlier in this video, solar
eclipses happen fairly regularly with each year yielding between 2 and 5 partial eclipses
visible to certain parts of the planet. But every once in a while, an instance of this
cosmic phenomenon comes along that lasts much longer than the average eclipse with absolute
coverage. Total solar eclipses may occur every 18 months, but from here they are divided
into cycles based on the path of the moon and length of the eclipse. It's been determined
that after a period of 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, an eclipse will repeat the same
behavior. This period of time is known as a Saros to astronomers. Of all the Saros series
cycles, the one producing the longest lasting total eclipses is Solar Saros 136. It is the
cycle currently responsible for the longest eclipse ever recorded at 7 minutes and 7.74
seconds, occurring on June 20, 1955. It's set to strike again on August 2, 2027, though
for a much shorter amount of time than its record-holding predecessor. Visible around
Luxor, Egypt, this total eclipse is predicted to last 6 minutes and 22 seconds. If you miss
this one, worry not, as the Saros 136 cycle will return again in 2045 on August 12, this
time able to seen from across the United States and Caribbean Islands, and lasting 6 minutes
and 5.5 seconds if viewed from the optimal point near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Number 6. Great White Storm When observing Saturn, one of the most notable
features of the great gas giant is a large white spot located in its northern hemisphere.
However this strange milky blotch isn't always visible, as it's actually a storm that stretches
thousands of miles wide and brews once every 28 and a half years! This galactic phenomena
has only been observed and recorded 8 times in history, with the most recent data collected
coming from the Cassini space probe in 2010. The most extraordinary instance of the Great
White Storm, though, occurred in 1990, when the white spot expanded to encircle the entirety
of the planet longitudinally . It was originally thought that these storms were caused by thermal
instability on Saturn, resulting in the large atmospheric surges. But a team of planetary
scientists from Caltech proposed another theory in 2015 with a bit more complexity. They concluded
that the storms resulted from the seasonal cooling of Saturn's upper atmosphere, an event
that affects the physics of the entire gaseous planet. The storms take a long time to develop
as the higher density portions of the upper layers of the atmosphere slowly crash into
the lower layers during this temperature change. The result is a massive delayed storm, the
likes of which is predicted to be visibly occur next around the year 2039.
Number 5. The Grand Conjunction As Jupiter and Saturn near each other once
more in the year 2040 following their meeting in 2020, they will not be alone. For the first
time in a predicted four thousand years, the pair of giant planets will be joined by Mars,
Mercury, and Venus, along with the moon, making for six celestial bodies simultaneously within
a ten degree span of the night sky! An extremely rare sight, this Grand Conjunction, or Golden
Conjunction as some refer to it, will hold special significance with superstitious stargazers.
Since the Middle Ages, scholars, philosophers, and classic astrologers have thought these
rare meeting of the planets to act as celestial omens of sorts. Some believe these conjunctions
to signify the impending doom of political figures, while others see horoscope-related
consequences to come depending on the planets involved. Regardless of belief, the world
will be able to witness this cosmic anomaly on September 8th, 2040 just after sundown.
Number 4. Rare Occultation When various celestial entities pass in front
of one another, shielding the light of one to viewers from Earth, this type of space
event is referred to as "occultation" . Planets can occult one another, moons, and stars,
though the latter is a rarer event than other forms of occultation . One of the first recorded
instances of a planet occulting a star was in 1959 when Venus passed before Regulus , an
extra bright star. This meeting will repeat on October 1, 2044 and is the next time a
planet is set to occult a star. Other instances of this phenomena include Uranus passing in
front of a star in 1977, which revealed its rings to scientists for the first time, and
Saturn occulting the star 28 Sagittarii in 1989. The last time Venus blocked out the
light of Regulus , the event lasted approximately 11 minutes, prompting over 600 photographs
to be taken of the event. Only time will tell how long the occultation lasts this time around!
Number 3. Halley's Comet Perhaps the most famous comet in existence
is the periodically occurring Halley's Comet, which makes its return near Earth every 75
years. This allows lucky stargazers to potentially view it twice in a lifetime! It's named for
the English astronomer Edmond Halley , who studied the reports of comets passing through
the vicinity of Earth in 1531, 1607, and 1682. He hypothesized that these reports all came
from the same comet, predicted its return in 1758. Though he didn't live to see his
prediction fulfilled, his research led to the comet's passing to be established as a
recurring celestial event. The last time Halley's Comet jettisoned across Earth's skies was
in 1986, in the midst of the space age, allowing scientists to send spacecraft to approach
it and sample the minerals that compose it. While scientists are still studying the data
collected from this prior episode, the next passing of Halley's Comet is on the horizon,
set to happen mid-year of 2061.
Number 2. When Planets Align If a planet occulting a star is rare, planet's
occulting one another happens even less often! The last recorded time a planet transited
another planet was on January 3 of 1818, when Venus passed before Jupiter. And on November
22, in the year 2065, those two will meet again for round two. After this unusual planetary
passing, though, Earth's inhabitants won't have to wait another 247 years to pass before
witnessing another transit of planets as Mercury will pass in front of both Neptune and Mars
in the years after. In 2067, on July 15th, the planet closest to the sun will orbit in
front of its great blue cousin, and then 12 years later, on August 11, 2079, scientists
say it will block Earth's red neighbor from view as well. All of these occultations will
happen within view of the Earth, though the clarity of such events will depend on their
proximity to the Sun and the perceivers position on the planet.
Number 1. Planetoid Perihelion At the outskirts of our solar system, a lone,
minor planet known as Sedna orbits at a distance from the Sun nearly triple the separation
of Neptune and our local star. Being that far away from the sun, the planetoid takes
a whopping 11,400 years to complete its orbit. On top of that, Sedna's orbit is strangely
elongated, keeping it far from the rest of our solar system for the majority of its circumnavigation.
Thus, it is extremely rare for Sedna to reach its perihelion , or point of orbit closest
to the sun. But scientists predict it will reach this landmark point by mid-year 2076!
Still, even at its closest point, the sun would look more like an extra bright star
the size of a needle point from Sedna's surface, demonstrating just how distant this little
planetoid is from us.