STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It’s the start of a new year and a new decade, and there’s much in store this year in space.
Stargazers can view eclipses and meteor showers, while space agencies continue making advancements in space travel and research.
Here’s a look at some impressive and exciting space events expected in 2020.
Jan. 10 – Penumbral eclipse of the moon
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, this eclipse is visible from North America only in far northwestern and northeastern regions. The moon will enter the penumbra at 12:06 p.m. and leave at 4:14 p.m.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon enters the shadow of Earth, which cuts off all or part of the sunlight reflected off the moon.
It is the only eclipse visible in North America this year.
Jan. 11 – Tests for commercial spacecraft to carry astronauts
NASA and SpaceX are planning for a critical in-flight abort test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft on Jan. 11 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The commercial spacecraft could carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
The demonstration is one of the final major tests for the company before NASA astronauts fly aboard the spacecraft.
Jan. 29 – Parker Solar Probe flies past sun
The Parker Solar Probe -- which has a mission to fly directly into the sun’s atmosphere -- will make another close approach to the sun on Jan. 29. It will fly past the sun an additional three times this year.
More than a year after its launch, the probe has returned unprecedented data from the area near the sun from its previous close approaches. It has uncovered information about how the sun constantly ejects material and energy. It will also help scientists rewrite the models we use to understand and predict space weather around the Earth and understand the process of how stars are created and evolve.
Feb. 5 – Solar Orbiter
NASA will launch its Solar Orbiter on Feb. 5 -- a joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) mission that will address central questions concerning the sun. The spacecraft will launch at 11:15 p.m. on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The Solar Orbiter will be placed into an elliptical orbit around the sun coming as close to 26 million miles away from the star every five months -- even closer than Mercury. It will take three years to reach this orbit, according to NASA. The Solar Orbiter will be able to better image the regions around the sun’s poles than ever before.
April – Launch of NASA’s Expedition 63
In April, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian space agency Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Tikhoov and Andrei Babkin will launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station.
April 21-22 – Lyrid meteor shower
Known as a medium strength shower, the Lyrids produce good rates during its peak from April 21-22. While they usually lack persistent trains, they can produce fireballs.
AL.com
A small meteor trail is seen left of center in a composite picture made in Springville, Ala., about 1 a.m. Wednesday, April 23, 2014. The curved lines are stars seen in several 30 seconds time-exposure photographs stacked together. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com) AL.com
May 6-7 – Eta Aquarid meteor shower
The Eta Aquarids will peak from May 6-7 and produce medium rates of 10-30 meteors per hours just before dawn. The International Meteor Association (IMO) said these are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains and few fireballs.
July 17- Mars 2020 Rover will launch
The Mars 2020 Rover could possibly launch as soon as July 17 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida -- but has a launch window through Aug. 5.
It is expected to land on Feb. 18, 2021 at the Jezero Crater on Mars for at least one Mars year (about 687 Earth days). The rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize Mars’ climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.
July 29-30 – Southern Delta Aquarid and Alpha Capricornid meteor showers
The Southern Delta Aquarids will peak from July 29-30, and are typically faint meteors. The Alpha Capricornids are also not very strong, and rarely produces in excess of five meteors per hour. However, there are many bright fireballs produced during its peak.
August
NASA announced that its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which entered into orbit around the asteroid Bennu in 2018, will briefly touch the surface of Bennu to retrieve a sample.
The sampling will allow scientists to learn more physical and chemical details about the asteroid. It will deliver the sample to Earth by September 2023.
Aug. 11-12 – Perseid meteor shower
Perseids are considered the most popular meteor shower, as they peak on warm August nights. They will peak from Aug. 11-12 in 2020. Normal rates range from 50 to 75 meteors per hours.
LC- Mark Graves
These photos were taken during the Perseid meteor shower between 12:30 and 4 a.m. Saturday, August 13, 2016, outside Maupin, Oregon, in a canyon along the Deschutes River. (Photos by Mark Graves and David Cansler, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com)
Oct. 6 – Mars close approach
Mars will be only 38.6 million miles from Earth during its close approach on Oct. 6. The last time Mars made a close approach to Earth was in July 2018. Since Mars and Earth are at their closest, it’s generally the best time to go to Mars, and many Mars missions have taken advantage of the close distance to visit the planet.
When the two planets are close to each other, Mars appears very bright in the sky. It also makes it easier to see with telescopes or the naked eye.
Oct. 9-10 -- Southern Taurid meteor shower
This is considered a long-lasting shower, but rarely produces more than five meteors per hour even at its peak nights. The Taurids are rich in fireballs and are often responsible for increased number of fireball reports from September through November, according to IMO.
Oct. 21-22 – Orionid meteor shower
A medium strength meteor shower, the Orionids produce 10 to 20 meteors per hour at maximum.
Nov. 16-17 – Leonid meteor shower
Leonids will see about 15 meteors per hour during its peak. They are often bright meteors with a high percentage of persistent trails.
A meteor is shown at 12:19 a.m. during the annual Geminid meteor shower over Springville, Ala., Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com) ORG XMIT: ALBIN
Dec. 13-14 – Geminid meteor shower
The Geminids are usually the strongest meteor shower of the year, according to IMO. It’s the one major meteor shower that provides good activity prior to midnight. They are often bright and intensely colored.
Dec. 22-23 – Ursid meteor shower
Observers of Ursids will see about five to 10 meteors per hour in the late morning hours during its peak. There have been occasional outbursts when rates have exceeded 25 meteors per hour.
Biological experiment will launch at some time in 2020
NASA’s BioSentinel mission will fly on the Space Launch System’s first Exploration Mission planned to launch at some point in 2020. The primary objective of the mission is to develop a biosensor to detect and measure the impact of space radiation on living organisms over long durations beyond Low Earth Orbit. It will carry two strains of yeast to see how it responds to space radiation.
It will “address strategic knowledge gaps related to the biological effects of space radiation, and will provide an adaptable platform to perform human-relevant measurements in multiple space environments in the future, including on lunar and Mars landers and orbiters.”
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