10 SPECTACULAR STARGAZING EVENTS TO WATCH IN 2021
February 11: Venus-Jupiter conjunction
If one wakes up early, the brightest planets- Venus and Jupiter shall appear as bright dots to the eye, and the pair will seem close enough in the sky. They are going to be visible at an equivalent time, through a simple telescope.
March 9 and 10: Quadruple formation
Stargazers around the globe can watch Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn in an alignment with the crescent moon framing them in the south-eastern morning sky. They will be visible to the naked eye, and each planet shall appear as a brilliant dot with Mercury the faintest, and Jupiter the brightest.
May 26: “Blood moon” Total Lunar Eclipse
People across western North America, western South America, Australia, and southeast Asia, shall witness the moon turn red as it undergoes a total lunar eclipse. This starry event happens when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are precisely aligned and the Earth's completely shadows the moon.
June 10: “Ring of fire” solar eclipse
As the sun rises, people along a narrow path running north from Canada, into part of Greenland, and Russia shall be able to see a “ring of fire” eclipse. Known as an annular solar eclipse, this event occurs when the Sun, Moon, Earth are aligned so that the lunar disk is too small to cover the entire sun, leaving a ring of light around the dark lunar silhouette.
July 12: Venus-Mars Conjunction
The two planets: Venus-Mars shall appear to touch in the evening sky. The pair is going to be joined by a crescent moon, making an interesting photo op for astrophotographers.
August 12 and 13: Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks
This year when the Earth travels through a cloud of debris shed by the comet Swift–Tuttle, Perseid meteor shower, which produces up to 60 shooting stars an hour, shall coincide with a dark, moonless sky, letting a beautiful view of meteor shower late night.
August 18: Mars-Mercury Conjunction
Mercury and Mars can be seen in a close frame with Mercury appearing brighter than Mars in the evening sky of August 18. It can be a bit puzzling to watch this dramatic closure as the planets shall be in proximity to the setting sun.
October 8: Draconid Meteor Shower
The Draconids glittering in the high northwest skies shall form a stream of sand grain-size particles after nightfall with about 10 to 15 shooting stars an hour. The moon shall beautifully compliment these flashes of cometary debris for the sky-watchers to enjoy .
November 19: Partial Lunar Eclipse
Star gazers shall be gifted with the last lunar eclipse of the year across North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. Starting at 2:18 a.m. EST, Earth’s shadow will cover 95 percent of the full moon by 4:02 a.m. EST, with hints of orange or red hue.
December 4: Total Solar Eclipse
Adventurous eclipse chasers can have their chance at the end of 2021, when a total solar eclipse shall unfold across Antarctica. With a partial eclipse of the sun, viewers with solar filters across parts of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia shall get to see a ring of the sun as the moon partially conceals it.