1月最好的觀天時刻

1月最好的觀天時刻

The year 2020 is expected to provide an amazing array of skywatching opportunities, as MNN's Michael d'Estries made clear. Nearly every night of the year, the sky provides a celestial spectacle worth staying up for, but it helps to focus on the highlights.

正如MNN的邁克爾·德埃斯特里斯所說，預計2020年將提供一系列令人驚嘆的觀看天空的機會。一年中幾乎每個夜晚，天空都會呈現(xiàn)出值得我們熬夜觀賞的天象，但它有助于我們集中精力觀看最精彩的部分。

The Milky Way's Galactic Center in the night sky above Paranal Observatory. (Photo: ESO)

Below are a handful of worth-the-effort stargazing opportunities you can catch this month.

以下是幾個值得一試的觀星機會，你可以在這個月抓住。

Quadrantids meteor shower

四象限流星雨

A Quadrantid meteor lights up the sky above New Mexico. (Photo: Mike Lewinski [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

The Quadrantids, an annual meteor shower producing upwards of 100 shooting stars an hour, peaked at the beginning of the month. The shower is the result of Earth passing through a debris field created by a fractured comet some 500 years ago.

每年一次的“四象限”流星雨每小時產(chǎn)生100多顆流星，在本月初達到高峰。這場流星雨是大約500年前地球穿過一顆破碎的彗星形成的碎片區(qū)域的結果。

Wolf Moon eclipse (Jan. 10-11)

狼月蝕(1月10-11日)

The beginning of the super blood wolf moon eclipse from Jan. 20, 2019. (Photo: RobDun/Shutterstock)

The Wolf Moon eclipse on Jan. 10 is the first of many full moons this year and it's also the first of several penumbral lunar eclipses. A penumbral eclipse is when the Earth’s lighter outer shadow (penumbra) covers the moon, so it's more subtle. The eclipse will occur during the full moon phase. These two events combined mean the moon will appear slightly darker than usual.

1月10日的狼月月食是今年許多滿月中的第一次，也是幾次半影月食中的第一次。半影月食是指地球較淺的外部陰影(半影)覆蓋月球，所以比較微妙。月食將發(fā)生在滿月階段。這兩件事合在一起意味著月亮看起來會比平常略暗。

Those living in Australia, Asia, Africa, Northern Europe, northern Canada and Alaska can expect the best visibility of the eclipse. For people in most of North and South America, it will be almost impossible to see because the full moon will hit its peak around 2:21 p.m. EST — in the middle of the day. No worries though, as plenty of penumbral eclipse opportunities are set to happen this year, with the next occurring on June 5.

那些生活在澳大利亞、亞洲、非洲、北歐、加拿大北部和阿拉斯加的人可以期待看到最好的日食。對于北美和南美大部分地區(qū)的人們來說，這幾乎是不可能看到的，因為滿月將在美國東部時間下午2點21分左右達到頂峰——在一天的中間。不過不用擔心，因為今年將有大量的半影日食機會發(fā)生，下一次將在6月5日發(fā)生。

Venus grows brighter in the night sky

金星在夜空中變得更亮

The planet of Venus as captured in visible light. Carl Sagan first posed a question about what could survive in the clouds of Venus, which have more favorable conditions than the surface of the planet. (Photo: NASA)

The Earth's celestial neighbor is set to grow brighter as we progress into the month. Venus will be easy to spot in the western sky from now until May. But this month the planet named after the goddess of love and beauty will be bright enough to see with the naked eye, say the experts at EarthSky. Venus peeks out after sunset for between two and three hours a night throughout the month.

隨著我們進入這個月，地球的天體鄰居將變得更加明亮。從現(xiàn)在到五月，金星將很容易在西方天空中被發(fā)現(xiàn)。但據(jù)EarthSky的專家稱，本月以愛與美的女神命名的行星將足夠明亮，可以用肉眼看到。金星在日落之后會在一個月內(nèi)每晚有2到3個小時的時間向外張望。

On Jan. 27, you can use the brightness of Venus as a starting point to see Neptune with a telescope. Once you locate Venus — which will be bright and visible — direct the telescope down and a bit to the right. You should see what looks like a dim blue star. In addition, you can use the young waxing crescent moon on the 27th and 28th as a guide to see Mercury. What a bevy of planets to find in this exciting celestial month!

1月27日，你可以用望遠鏡以金星的亮度為起點來觀察海王星。一旦你確定了金星的位置——它將是明亮可見的——將望遠鏡向下并向右一點。你應該能看到一顆暗淡的藍星。另外，你可以利用27日和28日的新月作為向?qū)タ此?。在這個激動人心的天象月里，將會發(fā)現(xiàn)一大堆行星!