This is how the much debated calendar of year 2012 will look like.
03.04 January 2012 - Quadrantids. Quadrantid meteor shower, get to have up to 40 meteors per hour, usually on 3 and 4 January, but may be visible on 1-5 January. The highest rate of meteors per hour took place in 1932 (80/ hour). The best time for observations is a dark place after midnight. Meteors radiate from the constellation Bootes, close to the North Star.
The source of this meteor shower was unknown until December 2003 when Peter Jenniskens of the Ames Research Center (NASA) found evidence that meteoroids come from 2003 EH1 , an "asteroid", which is probably a piece of a comet which collapsed 500 years ago.
05 January 2012 Earth reaches perihelion at 1:00UT, at a distance of 147,097,202 kilometers from the Sun.
January 9, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place from 07:30 UT.
January 13, 2012 - Mercury conjunct Pluto, both in Capricorn., And Venus conjunct Neptune, both in the constellation Aquarius (within 1.2 degrees of Neptune).
January 14, 2012 P/2006 T1 Levy reaches perihelion at 0.9 Astronomical Units from the Sun. The Comet Levy passes within 0.2 AU of the Earth, and reach magnitude +7 as it moves through the constellation Cetus in the evening sky
January 23, 2012 - New Moon. Luna will be between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 07:39 UT.
January 31, 2012 - 433 Eros asteroid with a diameter of 33,000 x 13,000, passing in the constellation Sextans. It is a Near-Earth asteroid (NEA), discovered in 1898, the first asteroid that was orbited by a probe (in 2000). It is a S type asteroid size, second after 1036 Ganymede, and belongs to the Amor group.
Eros is an asteroid passing near Mars. Such objects have orbits that may remain there a few hundred million years before the orbit to be disturbed by gravitational interactions.
It is a potential impactor of the Earth, considered to produce a larger crater than the Chicxulub crater from an impact that is believed to be responsible of the extinction of the dinosaurs.
February 7, 2012 - The “Missing Moon phase” month as reckoned in Universal Time, missing 1st Quarter on Leap Day by 21 minutes.
February 7, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 21:54 UT.
February 9, 2012 - Venus conjunct Uranus.
February 13, 14, 2012 -Mercury conjunct Neptune.
February 21, 2012 - New Moon. Luna will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 22:35 UT.
March 3, 2012 - Mars in opposition. Mars will be closest to Earth and it's surface will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Mars.
March 5, 2011 - Mercury conjunct Uranus. Also is the best evening elongation of Mercury for northern hemisphere viewers, at 18° from the Sun.
March 8, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 09:39 UT.
March 14, 2012 - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. The two bright planets will be 3 degrees to each other in the evening sky.
March 20, 2012 - Equinox of March. March Equinox occurs at 05:14 UT. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and the days and nights will be almost equal in the whole world. This is also the first day of spring (spring equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of fall (autumnal equinox), in the southern hemisphere.
March 22, 2012 - New Moon. Luna will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 14:37 UT.
April 3, 2012 - Venus is near the Pleiades at sunset, on a cycle of transits in front of the open cluster occurring every 8 years until 2060.
April 6, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 19:19 UT.
April 15, 2012 - Saturn in opposition.The planet will be closest to Earth and it's face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.
April 21, 2012 - New Moon. Luna will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 07:18 UT.
April, 21.22 2012 - Lyride meteor shower. Lyrids are meteor showers with medium intensity, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour. These meteors can produce bright dust tail that takes a few seconds. Some meteors may be visible between April 16 to 25. The Moon will not light up the sky, and so it would be a good show. These meteors radiate from the constellation Lyra, and their source Comet Thatcher 18611.
April 22, 2012 - Mercury conjunct Uranus.
April 30, 2012 Venus is at -4.5 magnitude, bright enough to be visible in broad daylight.
May,05, 06, 2012 - Eta Aquarid meteor shower. Eta Aquarids usually produce about 10 meteors per hour. The highest intensity usually take place on 5 and 6.
Full Moon will discourage observations. The radiant point is the constellation Aquarius, and the meteors originates from Comet Halley. The best observations are usually to the east after midnight, away from city lights.
May 5, 2012 - Mercury and Saturn in opposition.
May 6, 2012 - Full Moon. - Moon at the perigee, or closest Full Moon of the year, or “Super Moon”. Also, Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 03:35 UT.
May 20, 2012 - New Moon. Luna will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 23:47 UT.
May 20, 2012 - Annular eclipse of the Sun. It will not be visible in Romania but I mentioned it. It will start in southern China and will move eastward through Japan, North Pacific Ocean and the western United States.
May,21, 22, 2012 - Mercury conjunct Jupiter.
June 4, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 11:12 p.m. UT.
June 05, 06, 2012 - Venus transiting the Sun. This rare event will be entirely visible mostly in East Asia, eastern Australia and Alaska. A partial transit can be seen in progress at sunrise throughout Europe, West Asia and East Africa. A partial transit can be seen in progress at sunset in most of North America, Central America, South and West America . It will not take place again until 2117.
June 12, 2012 -Asteroid 1761 Edmondson transits in front of Jupiter.
June 19, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 15:02 UT.
June 20, 2012 - June Solstice. June solstice occurs at 23:09 UT. North Pole of the Earth will be tilted towards the Sun, which will reach the northernmost position in the sky. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) on the northern hemisphere, and the first day of winter (winter solstice), in the southern hemisphere.
July 3, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 18:52 p.m. UT.
July 5, 2012 The Earth is at aphelion, or its at the farthest point from the Sun at 3:00 UT, at a distance of 152,092,400 kilometers.
July 9, 2012 Jupiter, Venus & Aldebaran are visible in a tight 1° degree grouping at dawn.
July 14, 2012 Comet 96P/Machholz 1 reaches a perihelion of only 0.12 AU, and may reach magnitude +9.0 as it crosses into the constellation Gemini in the evening sky.
July 19, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 04:24 UT.
July, 28, 29, 2012 - South Delta Aquarids can produce about 20 meteors per hour. Radiant point for these meteors is in the constellation Aquarius.
August 2, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 03:27 UT.
August 6, 2012 - Curiosity rover on Mars.Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) of NASA, is scheduled to land on the red planet on 06 August 2012. Curiosity is an autonomous rover similar to Spirit and Opportunity robots that previously visited Mars. This rover larger, will have more instruments and will perform many more experiments than the previous ones. HD cameras will photograph the Martian surface while other tools will examine soil and air samples and will be in search of organic
compounds.
August, 12.13, 2012 - Perseide meteor shower. Perseids are one of the best meteor showers that produce up to 60 meteors per hour at their peak hours. Radiant point is in the constellation Perseus, and the meteors originates from the tail of Swift-Tuttle Comet.Find a place away from city lights and look to the northeast after midnight.
August 15, 2012 - Mars comes into conjunction with Saturn.
17 August 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 15:54 p.m. UT.
August 24, 2012 - Neptune will be in oposition.The planet will be closest to Earth and it will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to observe Neptune. Because of its distance, it will appear only as a tiny blue dot.
August 31, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 13:58 UT. Since this is the second full moon in the month, is known as Blue Moon. This rare event only happens every few years.
September 16, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 02:11 UT.
September 22, 2012 - September Equinox.September Equinox occurs at 14:49 UT. The Sun will shine directly on the equator Days and nights will be almost equal in the whole world. This is also the first day of fall (autumn equinox) on the northern hemisphere, and the first day of spring (vernal equinox), in the southern hemisphere.
September 29, 2012 - Uranus in oposition. The blue-green planet will be closest to Earth and it will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to observe and photograph Uranus. Because of its distance, it will appear only as a small blue-green dot.
September 30, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 03:19 UT.
October 5, 2012 - Mercury conjunct Saturn.
October 15, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 12:02 UT.
October,21, 22 , 2012 - Orionide meteor shower. Orionids are a meteor shower of medium intensity, which produces about 20 meteors per hour. A good view is in any morning from October 20 to 24. The first Quarter Moon will set before midnight, leaving a dark sky. The best cardinal point to see will be to the east after midnight.Orionids originates from Comet Halley.
October 28, 2012 - Asteroid 13 Egeria occults a +8.1 magnitude star at 00:44 UT , seen from Russia, Europe and North Africa.
October 29, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 19:49 UT.
November 13, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 22:08 UT.
November 13, 2012 - Total eclipse of the Sun. This eclipse will be visible in Romania but only in the extreme northern parts of Australia and South Pacific Ocean. Partial eclipse will be visible in most parts of eastern Australia and New Zealand.
November 17, 18, 2012 - Leonids - meteor shower. Leonids meteor showers are one of the best for observation. You will see about 40 meteors per hour.Leonids have a cyclic peak year every 33 years when hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. Last time this phenomenon occurred in 2001. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo after midnight and the meteors originates from the tail of the Comet Temple-Tuttle.
November 27, 2012 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. These two bright planets will be close to 1 degree apart on the eastern morning sky.November 27, 2012 - Mars comes into conjunction with Pluto.
November 28, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 14:46 UT.
November 28, 2012 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible mostly in Europe, East Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific Ocean and North America.
December 3, 2012 - Jupiter in oposition.The giant Jupiter will be on the closest distance from Earth and its surface will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons.
December 3, 2012 - Mercury, Venus, Saturn form a line 15° degrees long for a triple conjunction in the morning skies
December 12, 2012 - Toutatis asteroid with a diameter of 5 km, passing near Earth. It has an orbital period of almost each four years and is an asteroid passing near Mars, with a chaotic orbit.
The approaching on 29 September 2004, was at 0.0104 UA (4 Moon distances), which was a good opportunity for observation, with a bright Toutatis on 8.9 magnitude brightness.
Most recent approach of 0.0502 UA happened on November, 9, 2008. In the near future will be on December 12, 2012, at a distance of 0.046 UA, and the magnitude of 10. As you can see, this asteroid always returns each time passing closer to Earth, but does not present any danger to these distances. The shortest distance that can ever have this asteroid will be 0.006 UA, which is 2,3 times the distance between us and the Moon (2.3 Moon distances).
December 13, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth.
December 13, 14, 2012 - Geminids meteor shower, is considered by many to be the best meteor shower on the the sky. Geminids are known to produce up to 60 multicolored meteors per hour at their peak. Most usually appear on, or around 13 by December and 14, although some meteors should be visible between 06 and 19 December. They radiate from the constellation Gemini and originates from the asteroid 3200 Phaeton. This year, New Moon will guarantee a dark sky, so it would be a wonderful show. The best observation is to the east after midnight in a dark area.December 21, 2012 - Winter Solstice. The December solstice occurs at 11:12 UT. South Pole of the Earth will be tilted towards the Sun, and will reach the most northern position in the sky. This makes it the first day of winter (winter solstice), the northern hemisphere, and the first day of summer (summer solstice), in the southern hemisphere.
December 28, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 10:21 UT.
By what I have presented here, nothing unusual will happen in 2012 astronomically speaking. There will not be big alignments of planets, and will not come to us the planet Nibiru, therefore, no end of the world will happen. not this time. The year 2012 will come and will pass like any other year. All is known. The only threat that we would have would be a large asteroid that is not detected in time, and that would be on the path of the Earth, or other forces that we have not discovered yet. The rest are just unfounded opinions and speculations.
Otherwise, we have many meteor showers, a transit of Venus across the Sun, and some conjunctions of planets.
For those who like my astro pictures or my articles, it woul be great if you could pay attention on advertising that appear in the blog by a click and maybe one day I could buy a better telescope.
Read more: http://lupuvictor.blogspot.com/2011/10/astronomical-calendar-astronomy-events.html#ixzz1lodm12lu
