Supermoons, meteor showers and crewed space flights highlight 2018

The first day of 2018 brings the second of three super moons and the brightest moon of 2018. The month closes out with a final super moon. This is also the first time a lunar eclipse has occurred on the same day as lunar perigee (the point during orbit in which the moon is closest to Earth) and with the second full moon in a calendar month (a so-called blue moon) in 150 years.

Mercury reaches greatest elongation on Jan. 1, meaning it will be at its greatest separation from the Sun in our sky, making it visible in the predawn sky. This week and next, look for it low in the southeastern sky about an hour before sunrise.

The bright star Regulus will be just a few degrees from the moon on Jan. 5. Regulus forms the dot in the backwards question mark shape that makes up the front of the constellation Leo the Lion.

Other conjunctions, or times when planets, a star and our Moon appear very close, making them easy to spot, are Jupiter, Mars and the Moon on Jan. 11 as well as Saturn, Mercury and the Moon on the 13th.

Astronomy Days returns to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Jan. 27 and 28. This year’s theme is Space Telescopes and Missions. The Museum partners with NASA and the Raleigh Astronomy Club with everything from hands on activities for the kids to lectures and rocket launches.

The month closes out with a total lunar eclipse, which coincides with the final of the three supermoons. Unfortunately, we will only be able to see about the first 10-15 minutes of the eclipse before moonset. If your western horizon is relatively free of trees or buildings, you might be able to catch the Earth’s umbral shadow crossing the lunar surface between 6:48 a.m. and moonset around 7:10 a.m.

The year’s other eclipses, including a total lunar eclipse on July 22 and a partial solar eclipse on Aug. 11, will not be visible from our area. The next eclipses visible from our area will be a total lunar eclipse in January 2019 and partial solar eclipse in June 2021.

We will again have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of elusive Mercury throughout March. Look to the west after sunset; views will be best mid-month with March 15 being the very best.

During the second week of March, a waning crescent moon will visit Saturn, Mars, Antares and Jupiter as they line up in the predawn skies.

Mars will be at its brightest when it reaches opposition, or the point in its orbit when it is opposite the Sun in our sky, on July 27. Similarly, Jupiter reaches opposition on May 8, Saturn on June 27, and you might be able to catch a glimpse of Uranus on Oct. 23 or Neptune on Sept. 7 when they reach opposition. The outer planets are considerably dimmer, so you’ll have to know where to look.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks the evening of April 22 into the following dawn. While not a very active meteor show, with only 18 per hour expected under the best conditions, it has been known to produce some fireballs.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on May 6. With rates approaching 30 meteors per hour just before dawn, this one is usually worth getting up for.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks the evening of Aug. 12. This is usually one of the most active showers of the year.

The Orionid meteor shower, produced by debris left by Halley’s comet, will peak the evening of Oct. 21. The most productive meteor shower of the year is generally the Geminids, which peak in 2018 on the evening of Dec. 13.

NASA is planning for the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a successor to the hugely successful Kepler Space Telescope. TESS will search a larger part of the sky than Kepler, studying over 200,000 stars for evidence of planets orbiting them.

The commercial space race will heat up even more as 2018 could be the year that crewed spaceflight returns to U.S. soil. SpaceX plans Demonstration Mission 1 of their (uncrewed) crew Dragon capsule for February. Boeing plans a similar Orbital Test Flight of their Starliner capsule for June. SpaceX plans an additional crewed test flight for June 2018 with a Starliner crewed flight in August. These test flights are required by NASA before to certification for crew transportation to the International Space Station.