If all the bad news around the world and the invasion of artificial intelligences have you feeling a bit bored, remember that it's never a bad idea to look up. For the rest of the 21st century, we will witness some fabulous astronomical events, even unique ones on a human scale. Today we're going to mention seven of them, three of which will happen this very decade…
October 2023: The Ring of Fire
On the next October 14, most of the Americas will be able to observe an annular solar eclipse. What does 'annular' mean? That the apparent diameter of the Moon will be smaller than that of the Sun, thus creating a Ring of Fire that will surround our satellite. The United States and Mexico will be the best places to see it, but Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil will also be able to enjoy the event.
April 2029: Apophis Pays Us a Visit
“Jaffa, Kree!”… (sorry, a slip of the tongue). The asteroid 99942 Apophis took the media by storm after its discovery in 2004, and initial calculations gave it a 2.7 percent chance of impacting Earth on April 13, 2029. New studies have determined that such an impact will not happen, but that day, the distance between Apophis and the Earth's surface will be only 31,600 kilometers. With a magnitude of 3.1, the asteroid will be visible in Europe, Africa, and western Asia.
June 2029: Blood Moon
On June 26, 2029, we will witness a total lunar eclipse. With an estimated magnitude of 1.84 and a duration exceeding 100 minutes, it will be the longest and darkest lunar eclipse of the 21st century. One of the visual effects of the eclipse is that the Moon will turn red or deep orange at its peak, hence the phrase Blood Moon. The optimal region to observe it will be South America.
September 2040: Parade of Planets
On May 5, 2000, a fabulous planetary alignment occurred involving Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn... which nobody could see (except the experts) because the Sun was in the middle. Fortunately, NASA tells us that we will have a rematch on September 8, 2040. In that syzygy, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the crescent Moon will be present. I imagine that end-of-the-world predictions (yes, another one) will not be long in coming...
December 2052: The Closest Supermoon of the Century
The term Supermoon has been amplified and exaggerated by the media to exhaustion, but technically it's nothing more than the full moon coinciding with its perigee, that is, the point of its elliptical orbit closest to Earth. In the best case, the Moon appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter, and that will happen on December 6, 2052, positioning itself at less than 356,500 kilometers.
July 2061: Halley's Comet Comes Home
Halley's Comet has the peculiarity of being the only comet visible without instruments from Earth that can appear twice in a human life. Its last visit was in 1986, so we'll have to wait until July 28, 2061 for it to reach perihelion and come by to say hello. Personally, I may not be in this world when Halley returns, but hope never dies...
The North Star and the North Pole Will Align
Polaris is also known as "The North Star", but that title is not entirely valid. Due to movements of the Earth's axis, stars are not 'fixed' in the sky, and Polaris is in a cycle of almost 26,000 years that brings it closer and farther from the north pole. In 2018, Polaris was 0.66 degrees from the pole of rotation, but it will reach its closest point on March 24, when it will be 0.45 degrees from the celestial north pole.
