STARFALL CALENDAR MARCH 2019 FULL

Under these ideal viewing conditions (almost impossible to get), the Quadrantids are predicted to peak at about 3:20 AM EST with a ZHR of between 60 and 200 meteors per hour (nominally 120 meteors per hour). Zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) is the predicted maximum number of meteors an ideal observer would see with no interference from the Moon or city lights, with perfectly clear skies (reference limiting magnitude +6.5), with the shower radiant directly overhead, and after the observer's eyes have had 30 to 45 uninterrupted minutes to adjust to the darkness (no checking your cell phone to see how long it has been). The time between moonset and when the sky starts showing the first signs of dawn should be the best time to look for these meteors. This year, on the morning of the expected peak, the Moon will set just around the time the radiant (the direction from which the meteors appear to be spreading out from) is rising. The bright stars from the local arm of our home galaxy in the constellation Orion will appear rising in the east.Īlthough the Quadrantid meteor shower will begin to show a few meteors around December 28, 2019, it is expected to have a short, sharp peak the morning of January 4, 2020, then quickly taper off by January 12.

STARFALL CALENDAR MARCH 2019 FULL

By the evening of the full Moon after next, January 10, 2020, bright Venus will appear in the southwest at about 19 degrees above the horizon. Towards the end of December Saturn will be setting by the time evening twilight ends. As the month progresses Saturn and the background of stars will appear to shift towards the west, while Venus will appear to shift the other direction, higher in the sky each night. The bright star will be Deneb, one of the three stars in the Summer Triangle, will appear about 62 degrees above the northwest horizon. No particularly bright star will appear nearly directly overhead. Jupiter will have already set, but should be visible about 30 minutes after sunset in the west-southwest. Venus and Saturn will have appeared at their closest, about 2 degrees apart, the previous two evenings. On the evening of the full Moon on December 12, 2019, as evening twilight ends, the brightest planet in the sky will be Venus, appearing as the evening star in the southwest at about 10 degrees above the horizon, with Saturn appearing to the right of Venus. Morning twilight will begin at 6:19 AM, sunrise will be at 7:23 AM, the Sun will reach a maximum altitude of 27.7 degrees at 12:06 PM (its lowest maximum for the year), sunset will be at 4:49 PM, and evening twilight will end at 5:53 PM. On the day of the winter solstice, December 21, 2019, the period of daylight will last 9 hours, 26 minutes, 14 seconds. Morning twilight will begin at 6:14 AM, sunrise will be at 7:17 AM, the Sun will reach a maximum altitude of 28.0 degrees at 12:02 PM, sunset will be at 4:46 PM (one of the earliest sunsets of the year), and evening twilight will end at 5:50 PM.

On the day of the next full Moon (December 12), the period of daylight will last 9 hours, 29 minutes, 2 seconds. Rounded to the nearest minute, sunset will be at 4:46 PM from Sunday, December 1 through Friday, December 13, 2019. For the Washington, DC area (and similar latitudes at least), the earliest sunset of the year will occur on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at 4:46 PM EST. Because of this, the earliest sunsets of the year occur before the winter solstice and the latest sunrises of the year (ignoring Daylight Savings Time) occur after the solstice. Around the solstices the solar day is slightly longer than the 24 hour average that our clocks use. The length of a solar day varies throughout the year. As autumn ends and winter begins, the daily periods of sunlight reach their shortest and then begin to lengthen again.

Starfall calendar march 2019