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New 14 Dec 2000 |
Tangents | Updated 02 Jan 2008 |
Astronomic Events
Predicted for the Next 12 Months
With Time-Conversion and Viewing
Guides
CALENDAR
This calendar lists events which are cyclic or predictable. It does not include sporadic events, such as passes by comets or asteroids; nor does it list such mundane events as lunar phases or planetary conjunctions and oppositions. Event dates and times are expressed in 24-hour clock format (00:00 = midnight), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Depending on your location, your local time and date may differ from GMT by as much as 12 hours. Daylight Saving Time (if in effect) further increments local time relative to GMT by one hour.
WARNING: To avoid permanent eye injury and possible blindness, never look directly at the sun, either with the naked eye or through any kind of lens. To view the sun safely and inexpensively, use a pinhole projection as described in "viewing a solar eclipse."
CAUTION: To avoid equipment damage, do not point a camera, binoculars, or telescope directly at the sun without a proper solar filter.
| DATE | EVENT | REMARKS | VIEWING |
| 03 Jan 2008 | Perihelion | Earth at orbital position closest to sun ~00:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is faster, and the sun appears larger, than at any other time of year. |
| 04 January | Quadrantid meteor shower | Quadrantid meteors radiate from northern sky. (Visible in northern hemisphere only.) | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 07 Feb 2008 | Solar* eclipse (annular) | Maximum at 03:55 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 21 Feb 2008 | Lunar eclipse (total) | Maximum at 03:28 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 20 Mar 2008 | Equinox | Sun passes northward over Equator at 05:48 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 20 Jun 2008 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Cancer at 23:59 GMT. | Maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) north of equator; minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) south of equator. |
| 04 Jul 2008 | Aphelion | Earth at orbital position farthest from sun ~08:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is slower, and the sun appears smaller, than at any other time of year. |
| 01 Aug 2008 | Solar* eclipse (total) | Maximum at 20:42 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 12 August | Perseid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 16 Aug 2008 | Lunar eclipse (partial) | Maximum at 21:09 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 22 Sep 2008 | Equinox | Sun passes southward over Equator at 15:44 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 18 November | Leonid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 14 December | Geminid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 21 Dec 2008 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Capricorn at 12:04 GMT. | Minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) north of equator; maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) south of equator. |
| DATE | EVENT | REMARKS | VIEWING |
| 04 Jan 2009 | Perihelion | Earth at orbital position closest to sun ~15:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is faster, and the sun appears larger, than at any other time of year. |
| 04 January | Quadrantid meteor shower | Quadrantid meteors radiate from northern sky. (Visible in northern hemisphere only.) | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 26 Jan 2009 | Solar* eclipse (annular) | Maximum at 07:57 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 09 Feb 2009 | Lunar eclipse (penumbral) | Maximum at 14:38 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 20 Mar 2009 | Equinox | Sun passes northward over Equator at 11:44 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 21 Jun 2009 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Cancer at 05:45 GMT. | Maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) north of equator; minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) south of equator. |
| 04 Jul 2009 | Aphelion | Earth at orbital position farthest from sun ~02:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is slower, and the sun appears smaller, than at any other time of year. |
| 07 Jul 2009 | Lunar eclipse (penumbral) | Maximum at 09:37 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 22 Jul 2009 | Solar* eclipse (total) | Maximum at 02:36 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 06 Aug 2009 | Lunar eclipse (penumbral) | Maximum at 00:41 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 12 August | Perseid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 22 Sep 2009 | Equinox | Sun passes southward over Equator at 21:18 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 18 November | Leonid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 14 December | Geminid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 21 Dec 2009 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Capricorn at 17:47 GMT. | Minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) north of equator; maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) south of equator. |
| 31 Dec 2009 | Lunar eclipse (partial) | Maximum at 19:25 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| DATE | EVENT | REMARKS | VIEWING |
| 03 Jan 2010 | Perihelion | Earth at orbital position closest to sun ~00:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is faster, and the sun appears larger, than at any other time of year. |
| 04 January | Quadrantid meteor shower | Quadrantid meteors radiate from northern sky. (Visible in northern hemisphere only.) | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 15 Jan 2010 | Solar* eclipse (annular) | Maximum at 07:10 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 20 Mar 2010 | Equinox | Sun passes northward over Equator at 17:32 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 21 Jun 2010 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Cancer at 11:28 GMT. | Maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) north of equator; minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) south of equator. |
| 26 Jun 2010 | Lunar eclipse (partial) | Maximum at 11:39 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| 06 Jul 2009 | Aphelion | Earth at orbital position farthest from sun ~11:00 GMT. | Earth's orbital velocity is slower, and the sun appears smaller, than at any other time of year. |
| 11 Jul 2010 | Solar* eclipse (total) | Maximum at 19:30 GMT. Click here for path (NASA). |
Viewing a solar eclipse. |
| 12 August | Perseid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 23 Sep 2010 | Equinox | Sun passes southward over Equator at 03:09 GMT. | Hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal at all latitudes. |
| 18 November | Leonid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 14 December | Geminid meteor shower | Anticipated peak shower activity. | Viewing a meteor shower. |
| 21 Dec 2010 | Solstice | Sun directly above Tropic of Capricorn at 23:38 GMT. | Minimum hours of daylight (winter solstice) north of equator; maximum hours of daylight (summer solstice) south of equator. |
| 21 Dec 2010 | Lunar eclipse (total) | Maximum at 08:17 GMT. | Viewing a lunar eclipse. |
| DATE | EVENT | REMARKS | VIEWING |
Solar data for
aphelion, perihelion, equinox, and solstice courtesy of United
States Naval Observatory.
Eclipse data generated by a program written by Mark Whitman and
published in Astronomy magazine, Nov.1986.
GMT - LOCAL TIME CONVERSION
Observers in North America can use the following table to convert Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to local Standard or Daylight Saving time:
| Local Time | Alaska | Pacific | Mountain | Central | Eastern | Atlantic |
| Standard | GMT - 9 hr. | GMT - 8 hr. | GMT - 7 hr. | GMT - 6 hr. | GMT - 5 hr. | GMT - 4 hr. |
| Daylight-Saving | GMT - 8 hr. | GMT - 7 hr. | GMT - 6 hr. | GMT - 5 hr. | GMT - 4 hr. | GMT - 3 hr. |
Observers in the Western Hemisphere should use the following procedure to ensure that both time and date are correctly converted from GMT:
| Step | Action | Example | Calculation | Date | |
| 1. | FIND predicted GMT time and date of event on calendar. | Event predicted for 1 June at 02:45 GMT. | GMT = 02:45 | 1 June | |
| 2. | CHOOSE appropriate local-time conversion figure from table above. | For 1 June in Chicago, select Central Daylight Time figure. | CDT = GMT - 5 | 1 June | |
| 3. | SUBTRACT local-time conversion figure from GMT hours. If result is 0 or greater, skip to step 5. | Subtract 05:00 from 02:45. | 02:45 - 05:00 = -03:45 | 1 June | |
| 4. | a | IF result of step 3 is negative (less than 0), add 24 hours. | Because -03:45 is negative, algebraically add 24 hours. | -03:45 + 24:00 = 21:45 | 1 June |
| b | IF 24 hours were added in step 4a, subtract 1 day from GMT date. | Because 24 hours were added, use calendar date preceding GMT date. | 1 June - 1 day = 31 May | 31 May | |
| 5. | FINISHED! | Local time and date = CDT | 21:45 (9:45 PM) | 31 May | |
Observers in the Eastern Hemisphere can use a similar procedure, except that they must add hours to GMT depending on their local time zone. If the total hours exceed 24, then subtract 24 hours and increment to the following date.
24-HOUR TO AM-PM TIME CONVERSION
To convert from 24-hour to 12-hour format, do the following:
| If 24-hour time is... | 00:00 - 00:59 | ...add 12 hours... | ...12-hour time is... | AM | 12:00 M - 12:59 AM |
| 01:00 - 11:59 | ...then... | 1:00 AM - 11:59 AM | |||
| 12:00 - 12:59 | ...then... | PM | 12:00 N - 12:59 PM | ||
| 13:00 - 23:59 | ...subtract 12 hours... | 1:00 PM - 11:59 PM |