Is there a meteor shower in Wuxi in May?

Astronomical societies in Jiangsu and Tianjin reported that in May, the public could see three astronomical phenomena, namely, the meteor shower in Aquarius, the eclipse of Mars and the eastward distance of Mercury.

May 5 Aquarius meteor shower

In early May, the public can observe the meteor shower in Urta in Aquarius. Meteor shower is related to Halley's comet. According to experts from Jiangsu Astronomical Society, the Earth will enter the orbit of Halley's Comet twice every May and 10. The former will form the Erta meteor shower in Aquarius (in the zodiac, Aquarius is also called "Aquarius"), and the latter will form the Orion meteor shower. At the beginning of May, the domestic public can observe the meteor shower of the two towers of Aquarius. Meteor shower is related to Halley's Comet, and its appearance date is between May 3rd and May 10, possibly two hours before dawn on May 5th.

The active period of the Aquarius Erta meteor shower lasted from late April to the end of May, lasting for more than a month. The peak flow is not obvious, and the maximum time is predicted to be around 2 am on May 6, and the theoretical zenith flow (ZHR value) per hour can reach more than 70. In the following week, the traffic around the peak was large. According to the observation data of International Meteor Association (IMO) based on 1984 and 200 1, the uncertain eruption period of Aquarius meteor shower is 12 months. Of course, this has nothing to do with the mother comet, because the period of revolution of Halley's comet is about 76 years. At present, it is considered that this period is related to Jupiter (period of revolution is 1 1.86). If this is the case, the two or three years from this year will be the peak of the two-tower meteor shower in Aquarius, which has extremely high observation value. In addition, the meteor of the two towers meteor shower in Aquarius is bright and fast, which also has certain appreciation value.

The best observation area of Aquarius Erta meteor shower is not in the northern hemisphere, because the radiant point is in Aquarius and the sun is in the sky of Aries, which means that we can only observe it one or two hours before sunrise, and the radiant point is low in the whole process, so the number of meteors we can see will be much less than the theoretical value. In contrast, the sunrise in the southern hemisphere is late, the horizon of Aquarius is relatively high, and the observation conditions are good. However, for observers from all over the world, the biggest good news is that May 5th is the first day of the fourth lunar month, and the moonlight in the days before and after has little effect on the observation. Fans and friends who are keen on visual meteor shower observation, don't miss this opportunity. (Appendix: One more thing about Aquarius is worth mentioning-Neptune, one of the nine planets in our solar system, was discovered in the direction of Aquarius. British astronomer Adams and French astronomer Le Ye Wei used the law of universal gravitation to calculate its orbit, and later German astronomer Gail discovered it in Aquarius on September 23rd, 1846. )

Lunar eclipse of Mars on May 10.

The upcoming eclipse of Mars on May 10 is an important astronomical phenomenon with the most observational value in May. Unfortunately, only the westernmost areas in China, such as Kashgar, have the opportunity to observe, and other places can only see the close contact between Mars and the moon. Yan Jiarong said that when the occultation occurred, the brightness of the moon was not high, while that of Mars was about 1.3 stars, and the brightness contrast between them was small, which was beneficial to observation and shooting.

The easterly distance of Mercury on May 14.

In May, the public will once again have a good opportunity to observe Mercury. Because it is too close to the sun, Mercury is often submerged in the sun's brilliance, which is the most difficult to observe among the eight planets. Only when the angular distance between mercury and the sun reaches the maximum, that is, the "big distance", the public is most hopeful to see mercury. Mercury is called "east distance" in the east of the sun and "west distance" in the west of the sun.

The easterly distance of Mercury on May 14. At sunset that day, the horizon height of Mercury can reach about 19 degrees, and the brightness is about 0.3 magnitude, so the observation conditions are very ideal. But then mercury will quickly approach the sun, and the observation conditions will gradually deteriorate. Therefore, the public who want to observe Mercury must hurry up.

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