We observe several astronomical events in Bulgaria in 2022 – Curious – Bulgaria – NOVA News
In 2022 from Bulgaria I will have the opportunity to observe a partial solar and the initial phases of a total lunar eclipse, said for BTA the director of the Varna Observatory Svezhina Dimitrova. According to him, the number of this type of appearance will be four in total, but from our side only two of them will be seen.
On May 16 next year we will witness the initial partial phases of the total lunar eclipse, Dimitrova added. It helps that the phenomenon can be best traced from South America, Antarctica and the Southeast Pacific. The duration of the total eclipse phase will be 1 hour and 24 minutes. In our country you will have better visibility for lovers who live in Western Bulgaria.
A partial solar eclipse, which can be monitored across our latitudes, will be on October 25, Dimitrova added. It will also be visible from Europe, Northeast Africa and West Asia. From Bulgaria the phenomenon will be visible in the early afternoon of October 25. Observers from Sofia the eclipse will begin at 12.27. The largest closure of the solar disk – up to 32.1 percent of its area, will be observed at 13.36 hours. From Eastern Bulgaria the eclipse will be monitored with a slightly larger phase at the time of my maximum. For Varna, the start will be at 12.29 hours and the end – at 14.54 hours.
In 2022, the average passage of several comets with brightness is expected, which can be observed with binoculars or a small amateur telescope, Dimitrov added. In a few more evenings in January, amateur astronomers will send comet C / 2021 A1 / Leonard /. It will pass through its perihelion on January 3, 2022.
In the last evenings of April and the first month of May, low above the northwestern horizon, it will be possible to monitor comet C / 2021 O3 / PanSTARRS /, Dimitrova added. She added that from our latitudes the best time to observe K2 / PanSTARRS / will be July, August and September. This comet will be very bright and visible even with binoculars.
In the coming years we will be pleased with the traditionally most active meteor showers – Quadrants and Geminids, said Dimitrova. According to her, the maximum of the Quadrantids will be on January 3, around 10.40 pm, with an activity of about 100 meteors per hour. The moon will then be in the new moon phase and will not interfere with observations.
The maximum of the Perseid meteor shower for 2022 will be on August 13 at 4 o’clock after midnight. Expect to be over 100 meteors per hour, but most likely the Earth’s satellite will create a bright background in the sky and this will interfere with observations. The situation will be similar during the maximum of the Geminidi meteor shower on December 14, around 3 p.m. Expect activity to be over 120 meteors per hour.
There is a chance that the biggest astronomical attraction for 2022 will come from a little-known meteor shower – Tau-Herculids, Dimitrova added. She specified that it is very weak and is caused by particles emitted by the comet. At the end of 1995, its nucleus disintegrated into several fragments, suggesting the release of large clouds of dust into space. On August 25, 2022, the comet will be in its perihelion for a certain time, but before that – early in the morning of May 31, it expects our planet to cross the clouds of dust released during the decay years ago. If these astronomers’ predictions come true, between 04.50 and 05.20 on May 31, meteor showers with an activity of up to several thousand meteors per hour could be observed. In Bulgaria the day will have already come – for our latitudes the interval will be between 07.50 and 08.20. The speed of meteoric bodies entering the Earth’s atmosphere will be relatively low – about 16 kilometers per hour, which will lead to the observation of slow orange meteors.
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