February 17th, 2016 by 21232f297a57a5a743894a0e4a801fc3
Earth at Perihelion and Aphelion: 2001 to 2050
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Year Date/Time of Distance Relative to Date/Time of Distance Relative to Perihelion
Perihelion Mean Per. Aphelion Mean Ap. Interval
2016 Jan 02 22:49 0.9833039 AU 2097 km Jul 04 16:24 1.0167509 AU 6080 km 363.68 days
2017 Jan 04 14:18 0.9833094 AU 2919 km Jul 03 20:11 1.0166756 AU -5190 km 367.65 days
2018 Jan 03 05:35 0.9832843 AU -845 km Jul 06 16:47 1.0166961 AU -2129 km 363.64 days
2019 Jan 03 05:20 0.9833012 AU 1681 km Jul 04 22:11 1.0167543 AU 6590 km 364.99 days
2020 Jan 05 07:48 0.9832436 AU -6935 km Jul 04 11:35 1.0166943 AU -2399 km 367.10 days
2021 Jan 02 13:51 0.9832571 AU -4916 km Jul 05 22:27 1.0167292 AU 2832 km 363.25 days
2022 Jan 04 06:55 0.9833365 AU 6973 km Jul 04 07:11 1.0167154 AU 760 km 366.71 days
2023 Jan 04 16:17 0.9832956 AU 845 km Jul 06 20:07 1.0166806 AU -4444 km 365.39 days
2024 Jan 03 00:39 0.9833070 AU 2553 km Jul 05 05:06 1.0167255 AU 2273 km 363.35 days
2025 Jan 04 13:28 0.9833274 AU 5607 km Jul 03 19:55 1.0166437 AU -9957 km 367.53 days
2026 Jan 03 17:16 0.9833021 AU 1815 km Jul 06 17:31 1.0166440 AU -9920 km 364.16 days
2027 Jan 03 02:33 0.9833335 AU 6513 km Jul 05 05:06 1.0167289 AU 2786 km 364.39 days
2028 Jan 05 12:28 0.9833074 AU 2608 km Jul 03 22:18 1.0166798 AU -4566 km 367.41 days
2029 Jan 02 18:13 0.9832917 AU 270 km Jul 06 05:12 1.0167127 AU 362 km 363.24 days
2030 Jan 03 10:12 0.9833418 AU 7758 km Jul 04 12:58 1.0167227 AU 1848 km 365.67 days
2031 Jan 04 20:48 0.9832664 AU -3516 km Jul 06 07:10 1.0166882 AU -3308 km 366.44 days
2032 Jan 03 05:11 0.9832469 AU -6437 km Jul 05 11:54 1.0167510 AU 6086 km 363.35 days
2033 Jan 04 11:51 0.9832989 AU 1350 km Jul 03 20:52 1.0166936 AU -2494 km 367.28 days
2034 Jan 04 04:47 0.9832893 AU -89 km Jul 06 18:49 1.0166703 AU -5979 km 364.71 days
2035 Jan 03 00:54 0.9833249 AU 5238 km Jul 05 18:22 1.0167406 AU 4539 km 363.84 days
2036 Jan 05 14:17 0.9833202 AU 4530 km Jul 03 21:17 1.0166633 AU -7033 km 367.56 days
2037 Jan 03 04:00 0.9832889 AU -152 km Jul 06 12:05 1.0166651 AU -6753 km 363.57 days
2038 Jan 03 05:01 0.9833549 AU 9718 km Jul 04 19:46 1.0166909 AU -2904 km 365.04 days
2039 Jan 05 06:41 0.9833113 AU 3192 km Jul 05 13:25 1.0166588 AU -7700 km 367.07 days
2040 Jan 03 11:33 0.9832937 AU 557 km Jul 05 19:02 1.0167271 AU 2517 km 363.20 days
2041 Jan 03 21:52 0.9833471 AU 8554 km Jul 04 01:38 1.0166887 AU -3235 km 366.43 days
2042 Jan 04 09:07 0.9833014 AU 1723 km Jul 06 13:10 1.0166554 AU -8212 km 365.47 days
2043 Jan 02 22:15 0.9832882 AU -257 km Jul 06 02:25 1.0167441 AU 5064 km 363.55 days
2044 Jan 05 12:52 0.9832896 AU -44 km Jul 03 15:24 1.0166960 AU -2140 km 367.61 days
2045 Jan 03 14:56 0.9832653 AU -3677 km Jul 06 12:51 1.0166888 AU -3210 km 364.09 days
2046 Jan 03 00:58 0.9833451 AU 8247 km Jul 05 06:06 1.0167265 AU 2432 km 364.42 days
2047 Jan 05 11:44 0.9833216 AU 4738 km Jul 05 06:32 1.0166728 AU -5608 km 367.45 days
2048 Jan 03 18:05 0.9832818 AU -1219 km Jul 06 05:08 1.0167072 AU -469 km 363.26 days
2049 Jan 03 10:27 0.9833342 AU 6626 km Jul 04 09:06 1.0166722 AU -5702 km 365.68 days
2050 Jan 04 19:35 0.9833060 AU 2411 km Jul 06 01:57 1.0166285 AU -12240 km 366.38 days
May 21st, 2012 by 21232f297a57a5a743894a0e4a801fc3
January 3, 4 – Quadrantids Meteor Shower. The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower usually peaks on January 3 & 4, but some meteors can be visible from January 1 – 5. The near first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what should be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation Bootes.
January 9 – Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 07:30 UTC.
January 23 – New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 07:39 UTC.
February 7 – Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 21:54 UTC.
February 20 – March 12 – Best Chance to see Mercury. The planet Mercury will be far enough from the Sun’s glare to be visible shortly after sunset. Mercury will reach greatest elongation from the Sun on March 5, reaching a relatively bright magnitude of about -1. This will be your best chance to see the planet this year.
February 21 – New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 22:35 UTC.
March 3 – Mars at Opposition. The red planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Mars.
March 8 – Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 09:39 UTC.
March 14 – Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. The two brightest planets in the sky will be within 3 degrees of each other in the evening sky. On March 25 and 25, the crescent Moon will be near the two planets, creating a dazzling evening spectacle.
March 20 – March Equinox. The March equinox occurs at 05:14 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the southern hemisphere.
March 22 – New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 14:37 UTC.
April 6 – Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 19:19 UTC.
April 15 – Saturn at Opposition. The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.
April 21 – New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 07:18 UTC. Read the rest of this entry »
August 27th, 2007 by 21232f297a57a5a743894a0e4a801fc3
The table below lists every lunar eclipse from 2001 through 2010. Click on the eclipse Date to see a map and diagram of an eclipse. Click on the Region of Eclipse Visibility to see a detailed description of an eclipse.
Geographic abbreviations (used above): n = north, s = south, e = east, w = west, c = central
Footnotes
1Umbral magnitude is the fraction of the Moon’s diameter obscured by Earth’s Umbra. For penumbral eclipses, the umbral magnitude is always less than 0. For partial eclipses, the umbral magnitude is always greater than 0 and less than 1. For total eclipses, the umbral magnitude is always greater than or equal to 1. 2Eclipse Duration is the duration of a partial eclipse. If the eclipse is total, the duration of totality is given in bold.
3Geographic Region of Eclipse Visibility is the portion of Earth’s surface where a lunar eclipse can be seen.
September 25th, 2006 by 21232f297a57a5a743894a0e4a801fc3
Solar X-ray Flux
This GOES X-ray flux plot contains 5 minute averages of solar X-ray output in the 1-8 Angstrom (0.1-0.8 nm) and 0.5-4.0 Angstrom (0.05-0.4 nm) passbands. Data from both operational GOES satellites are included. Some data dropouts will occur during satellite eclipses. SEC alerts are issued at the M5 (5x10E-5 Watts/m2) and X1 (1x10E-4 Watts/m2) levels, based upon 1-minute data. Large X-ray bursts cause short wave fades for HF propagation paths through the sunlit hemisphere. Some large flares are accompanied by strong solar radio bursts that may interfere with satellite downlinks.
This page updates dynamically every 5 minutes.
Satellite Environment Plot
This plot combines satellite and ground-based data in an attempt to present an overview of the current satellite envionment (particularly at geosynchronous altitude). Although these data are of interest to the satellite community, they do not include all parameters and energy ranges known to be associated with satellite anomalies.
July 28th, 2006 by 21232f297a57a5a743894a0e4a801fc3
Filamentary structure in 3D. Image credit: SubaruClick to enlarge
Astronomers have used the Subaru and Keck telescopes to discover gigantic filaments of galaxies stretching across 200 million light-years in space. These filaments, formed just 2 billion years after the Big Bang, are the largest structures ever discovered in the Universe. The filaments contain at least 30 huge concentrations of gas, each of which contains 10x the mass of the Milky Way.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
