Pete Lawrence takes a look at the astronomical events you won’t want to miss in the next 12 months
The start of a new astronomical year always generates enormous excitement for what the months ahead will offer. Here we take a look at the night-sky delights that 2024 will serve up and pick out the best events to look forward to. If there’s any overall message, it’s that 2024 has the potential to be a memorable year for amateur astronomy!
Wintersets the scene
The Solar System dominates 2024, but not always in an obvious way. At the beginning of the year, Jupiter and Uranus rule the roost early evening, the rest lost to the Sun’s glare. They begin to lose altitude as darkness falls through February, becoming very low towards the end of March. After this, the major planets will be off the menu for several months.
Balance is restored in unusual form with a number of interesting and bright comets on view. A ‘bright comet’ typically means an object visible through binoculars or a small telescope. There are currently also two potentially naked-eye comets in 2024, one dim and one possibly not so dim!
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through orbital debris from a comet, and the first major display of the year is the Quadrantid shower. A last quarter Moon will affect visibility this year, but some activity should be seen. The peak is predicted for 10:00 UT on 4 January, with heightened activity lasting a few hours either side. The best observing will be in the early morning that day.
The winter night sky is dominated by Orion, its Belt stars pointing down (southeast) towards the brightest nighttime star, Sirius (Alpha (α) Canis Majoris); the ‘Dog Star’. Sirius has a white dwarf companion called the ‘Pup’. Locked in a mutual 50-year orbit, the apparent separation between Sirius and the Pup is currently near maximum, meaning 2024 is an excellent year to try to secure a view. Maximum separation is 11 arcseconds, the challenge being the glare from Sirius that washes out the mag. +8.4 Pup.
The Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox is on 20 March, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. This is when the length of the nights shrinks at its fastest rate.
Comets great and small
