The brand new moon occurs on Saturday (Oct. 14), at 1:55 p.m. EDT (1755 GMT), in accordance with the U.S. Naval Observatory, and this time the moon will create an annular solar eclipse visible within the southwestern U.S., Southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America, primarily in Colombia and Brazil.
Recent moons occur when the moon passes between the sun and Earth. About every 29.5 days, the sun and moon share the identical celestial longitude, an alignment also called a conjunction. Celestial longitude is a projection of Earth’s own longitude lines on the celestial sphere — a line drawn from the North Celestial Pole, near Polaris, the Pole Star, due south toward the sun also hits the brand new moon. On this case, the sun and moon are lined up in order that the moon passes in front of the sun, putting an element of Earth in its shadow, making a solar eclipse.
Solar eclipses are available several varieties. There are total solar eclipses, for instance, through which the moon blocks the sun entirely. One other type is an annular solar eclipse, through which the moon appears only a bit smaller than the sun; there may be a hoop of sunshine across the fringe of the moon. The rationale for the various eclipses is that the lunar orbit is an ellipse quite than an ideal circle; the moon could be closer or farther away from us than “normal” on its passes. Though the difference is minimal, it’s enough to change the apparent size of the moon within the sky. An enormous difference, visually, between annular and total eclipses is that one cannot see the solar corona (an element of the sun’s atmosphere) during an annular eclipse, since the ring of sunshine across the moon is simply too vibrant.
A vital note about observing solar eclipses: At all times use proper safety equipment, and never view the sun directly through optical aids without approved solar filters. Even when the sun looks dimmed (as during sunsets or sunrises), a camera lens, low-power binoculars or spotter scope, let alone a telescope, will concentrate the sunshine and the energy from the sun into your eye. This may cause retinal burns and everlasting damage to 1’s eyesight. The safest thing to do is view an eclipse through filtered glasses specifically designed for the aim, or to project a picture of the eclipse onto a big flat surface arrange behind a telescope or mounted binoculars. As a general rule, if it is not designed specifically for solar viewing, don’t use it to have a look at an eclipse.
For observers within the U.S., Saturday’s eclipse will first be visible on the west coast of Oregon, near Eugene. In Eugene, the moon touches the sun’s edge at 8:05 a.m. local time. Sunrise is at 7:25 a.m., so the sun can be near the horizon. The moon will appear to the touch the “top” of the sun and pass across it because the sun gets higher within the sky. Annularity — the moment when the moon is surrounded by a hoop of sunlight — begins at 9:16 a.m. and lasts for 3 minutes and 55 seconds. The eclipse ends at 10:39 a.m. local time.
The track of the moon’s shadow will move roughly southeast across the continent. Because it leaves Oregon and enters Nevada, the annular eclipse can be visible in Winnemucca and Elko. In Elko, the eclipse begins at 8:07 a.m. PDT and annularity starts at 9:22 a.m., lasting for 4 minutes 18 seconds. The trail then moves into Utah, just southwest of Salt Lake City; one good place to see it’s Capitol Reef National Park, where the eclipse begins at 9:09 a.m. MDT. Annularity is at 10:27 a.m. MDT and lasts 4 minutes and 40 seconds.
The eclipse path also goes through the 4 Corners Monument, where the borders of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Recent Mexico meet. The eclipse starts there at 9:11 a.m. MDT and annularity begins at 10:30 a.m., lasting for 4 minutes and 40 seconds. In Recent Mexico, the eclipse can be visible in each Albuquerque and Santa Fe. In each cities, the eclipse starts at 9:13 a.m. local time. In Albuquerque, annularity begins at 10:34 a.m. and in Santa Fe it’s at 10:36 a.m. Annularity is for much longer in Albuquerque; 4 minutes and 48 seconds against Santa Fe’s 2 minutes and 45 seconds. The rationale for the difference is Santa Fe is closer to the sting of the shadow’s path; Albuquerque is closer to the middle of it.
In Texas, the eclipse can be visible in cities comparable to Odessa, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. In San Antonio, the eclipse starts at 10:23 a.m. local time and annularity begins at 11:52 a.m., lasting for 4 minutes and 21 seconds.
The following ports of call for the eclipse can be in Mexico, within the states of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. In Chetumal, first contact (when the moon touches the sun) is at 10:51 a.m. local time, and annularity, which lasts for 4 minutes and 21 seconds, begins at 12:29 p.m.
Annularity can be visible across your complete northern half of Belize and in central Honduras and Nicaragua. In Costa Rica, the trail of annularity grazes the Atlantic coast; town of Limon will get 1 minute 18 seconds of annularity at 12:02 p.m. local time.
After that, the eclipse is visible in central Panama, after which Colombia. In Cali, Colombia, the eclipse starts at 11:45 a.m. local time. Annularity is at 1:31 p.m. local time and lasts for 3 minutes 40 seconds. In Brazil, the trail of annularity passes through the northern half of the country, starting within the state of Amazonas and ending in Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte. In Natal, where the eclipse track leaves Brazil’s eastern coast, the eclipse starts at 3:29 p.m. local time and annularity is at 4:43 p.m. Natal is at a degree where the sun sets before the eclipse is over; sunset is at 5:13 p.m. local time, when the sun will still be partially covered by the moon.
The nighttime planets
While the solar eclipse won’t be visible in every single place on Oct. 14, the night sky planets can be. On the latitude of Recent York City, Chicago or Sacramento, Mars can be quite near the horizon at sunset and lost within the solar glare within the evening. By about 8 p.m., nonetheless, Saturn can be visible within the southeast, about 32 degrees above the horizon in Recent York City, where sunset is at 6:17 p.m. local time on Oct. 14. The planet reaches its highest altitude of 36 degrees at about 9:37 p.m. and it sets at 2:54 a.m. Oct 15. (Your clenched fist held at arm’s length covers about 10 degrees of sky.)
Jupiter rises at 7:12 p.m. local time in Recent York, so the planet is visible for your complete night because it tracks across the southern half of the sky. Jupiter is at its highest point (called crossing the Meridian or transiting) at 2:06 a.m. EDT on Sunday (Oct. 15), when it gets about 63 degrees high, about two-thirds of the best way from the southern horizon to the zenith. The planet sets after sunrise on Sunday at 9:01 a.m. local time.
Venus rises at 3:17 a.m. on Sunday in Recent York, within the constellation Leo. It’ll be the brightest object within the sky within the predawn hours. By sunrise at 7:06 a.m. the planet will reach an altitude of 42 degrees within the southeast; if you happen to observe it, attempt to see how near sunrise the planet stays visible.
Mercury, meanwhile, can be nearly unattainable to see, as it’s so near the sun: At sunrise, the planet is not more than 3 degrees above the horizon, and the planet rises at 6:49 a.m. in Recent York.
For Southern Hemisphere skywatchers, the situation will differ barely, because the sky is “reversed.” Jupiter, for instance, rises at 9:29 p.m. in Santiago, Chile (and at similar times in other mid-southern latitude locations) and reaches its highest altitude at 2:54 a.m. local time on Sunday, when it’s about 42 degrees high (roughly halfway to the zenith from the horizon). Saturn, which rises within the afternoon (3:45 p.m. local time in Santiago) is 68 degrees high almost due north by about 10 p.m. Venus, meanwhile, rises at 4:56 a.m. local time on Sunday in Santiago, and by sunrise (which is at 7:01 a.m.) the planet is 24 degrees high within the northwest.
Stars and constellations
From mid-northern latitudes in mid-October, the summer constellations of the zodiac — Sagittarius, Ophiuchus and Scorpio — are setting; Scorpio is usually below the horizon and Sagittarius is low within the southwest by 7:30 p.m.; the Summer Triangle of Altair, Vega and Deneb is within the western half of the sky. Looking almost straight up, one sees Deneb, with Vega to the precise if one is facing south, and Altair below each. Turning north, one will see the Big Dipper near the horizon, the classic dipper shape appearing right side up (the bowl facing upwards), and one can use the pointers, stars named Dubhe and Merak, to seek out Polaris, the pole star. Polaris is the brightest star in Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, and if the sky is dark and one is away from city lights, the curve of the Little Dipper’s handle is less complicated to see.
If one continues the road from the Big Dipper through Polaris, one reaches Caph, or Beta Cassiopeiae. Together with 4 other vibrant stars, it forms Cassiopeia, a “W” shaped constellation. Between Cassiopeia and Ursa Minor is Cepheus, the King, and Cassiopeia’s husband. Cepheus and Cassiopeia were the legendary king and queen of Aethiopia, and Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the ocean nymphs, angering Poseidon, the god of the seas. To assuage Poseidon’s anger, Andromeda and Cepheus were forced to sacrifice their daughter Andromeda to the ocean monster Cetus, but Andromeda was saved by Perseus on his winged horse Pegasus.
Early within the evening, Perseus is rising; the constellation is below Cassiopeia just above the northeastern horizon if one follows the “W” of Cassiopeia downward. Looking from the underside of the “W” of Cassiopeia south (this can be to the precise if one is observing before about 10 p.m. facing east), one encounters the 2 long curving lines of stars that mark Andromeda, Cassiopeia’s daughter. If one follows the celebs of Andromeda up and to the precise, one reaches Andromeda’s head, which is an element of an asterism called the Great Square. One corner of the square is Andromeda’s head, while the opposite three are the wing of Pegasus.
Because the night progresses and one looks below (to the east) of 1 corner of the Great Square, one can see Pisces, the Fishes, that are two long lines of fainter stars forming a big “V” shape, with two smaller circlets on the ends. Pisces is harder to see from urban locations, nonetheless, as the celebs in it will not be that vibrant. By 10 p.m., the constellation Cetus is above the horizon. Cetus is commonly depicted as a whale, and its name is expounded to the word cetacean, which zoologists use to explain the order of mammals that features whales, dolphins and porpoises. Looking southward (to the precise) of Cetus and closer to the southern horizon, one can see Fomalhaut, the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish. Fomalhaut is a first-magnitude star that can be certainly one of the sun’s closest neighbors, just 25 light-years away.
Within the Southern Hemisphere, sunsets are later because the austral summer approaches. In Santiago, Chile the sun sets at 7:54 p.m. local time (the brand new moon is at 2:55 p.m. local time). So the sky doesn’t get really dark until about 9 p.m. Observers there’ll see the Southern Cross low within the southwest, just underneath Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus, which one can find by following the “spar” of the cross to the north (upward from the horizon). Turning left and searching southeast, one will see Achernar, the tip of Eridanus the River, about 37 degrees high. If one looks in the opposite direction, toward the west, one can see Antares, the center of Scorpio (which is below the horizon in mid-northern latitudes). Scorpio is “the other way up” — the claws of the Scorpion point to the horizon quite than upward, and the tail curves toward the zenith, making a fishhook shape that ends about 50 degrees above the horizon. Above Scorpio is the teapot shape of Sagittarius.
Looking north, one can see the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Triangle, but with Altair at the highest and Deneb and Vega at the underside, near the horizon, with Altair and Vega making a near-vertical line and Deneb being to the precise (east) of them.