Episode 57: 5 Biggest Upcoming Astronomical Events & Where to See Them with Valerie Stimac

Angie Orth:

If you enjoyed our last episode on astrotourism, then get ready for another fascinating tour de space because we are going to an even higher plane of travel, sky high to be precise, and straight to the top of your bucket list. Today, I'm back with astrotourism aficionado, Valerie Stimac. She's sharing the top 5 upcoming events taking place in the sky. So, let's get ready for takeoff, shall we?

Let's talk about the 5 biggest upcoming astronomical events and where to see them because there is a huge once-in-a-lifetime event to tell everybody about. I'm super excited about it, I'm traveling for it, but we're going to wait till the end of this episode to tell you about it. Let's start with the 2024 northern and southern lights. For anybody interested, tell us why this year is a big year.

Valerie Stimac:

It is the peak of solar activity. The sun, just like everything, goes through cycles and solar activity is at a peak right now, I believe it's a 12- or 11-year cycle. This is a good year to go because the sun is putting off a lot of particles into space, and we're catching some of those and it's causing incredible aurora displays. There's nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. So, that is the big thing, the sun is giving us an incredible show right now.

Angie:

April 22-23 is the Lyrids meteor shower. Is that how you say that? Lyrids?

Valerie:

Mm-hmm.

Angie:

So, this happens every year from April 16-25, and this year, it's going to peak the night of the 22nd and the morning of the 23rd. Tell us about that.

Valerie:

It's my birthday meteor shower. My birthday is on the 23rd, so I always love that I have a little meteor shower. This is the first major meteor shower of the year. There are about a dozen meteor showers that are reliable and strong enough that we can consistently mark our calendars to see them, but they have different levels of activity, and by activity, I mean how many meteors you'll see per hour and it is happening in early April. The main thing that typically tends to interfere with people being able to see it is the weather because it's still springtime and April showers and all of those cliched expressions about what the clouds tend to do during that time of year. It is a really nice start to the summer season of astronomical activity, and there's always lots going on during the summer.

Angie:

And this particular meteor shower is because of dust particles left by a comet?

Valerie:

When you look at a comet or a picture of a comet, you see that tail. One of the tails is releasing ions, one of the tails is releasing rocky, icy dust. When our atmosphere collides with that dust because we are moving constantly in orbit around the sun, we get meteorites. Basically, we are passing through a strip of gravel that was left in the road by a comet passing through in the past.

Angie:

This one I've seen lots of times. I dragged my husband to the middle of the woods last year in Montana to see the Perseids, and this happens every year in August. Tell us about that one.

Valerie:

The Perseids are really popular because they happen during our summer in the northern hemisphere, so it's a very active meteor shower during the warm summer. It's less complicated to get bundled up and go out to a dark sky location to see a really active meteor shower—up to about 60 meteors per hour or 1 meteor per minute—in August than it is in December when we actually have a more active meteor shower, the Geminids, but you got to bundle up in December, so people are less likely to go out and do that.

So, the Perseids is where you're going to see lots of activities happening, national parks host events for it, and astronomy clubs will host viewing parties. It's a really fun one because it is so active. Even little kids can get excited because you can spend an hour out and see a lot of meteors, a lot of “shooting stars.” It's definitely the crowd-pleaser at the end of the summer for us.

Angie:

And it lasts a while too, right? There's a couple days of peak, but it kind of lasts a few weeks that if you go outside and stand there long enough, you can pretty much expect to see something. It also helps when the moon is not full when you're standing outside looking, right? That's a big deal. Some years, it's better than others to see these meteor showers that we see every year, but sometimes it's better based on the cycle of the moon, is that right?

Valerie:

Absolutely. Always check the moon cycle! When the moon is full in a good dark sky, a really clear dark sky with low humidity and no clouds, it lights up the sky, and you're not going to see as much as you think you would. It can obscure the Milky Way. It can obscure meteors. You actually want to try and plan your trips in the other half of the month, the 2 weeks around the new moon, when the moon is completely dark in the sky. There's the Perseids in mid-August and Geminids in mid-December, and lately, they've been trading which one is on the full moon and which one is on the new moon. So one year, it'll be a really great year for the Perseids and a really bad year for the Geminids based on the moon. Then the next year, it's flipped, just from the way that the moon moves around the Earth, the phases of the moon, and all that.

Angie:

Here's my hot tip, put these on your calendar as a recurring event, and then every year, when you're getting close to it, you can figure out what is the moon doing now? Is this a good time to go out and see this one? Keep an eye on the weather, just so you know. Otherwise, it's always going to be a surprise and you might miss it. Then it's really disappointing if everybody comes into work the next day and says, “Oh my gosh, did you see all the meteors last night?” And you're like, “Nope, forgot about that one again.”

Valerie:

I always set my calendar in January with all the astronomy events I want to see and all of the moon phases, so that I can see if there's an overlap between the best moon phases and the astronomy events. Those are the ones that I would be more likely to plan a trip somewhere really good and dark than if it's going to be a full moon and I'm not going to see anything.

Angie:

If it's not number 5 on our list. What is the biggest 2024 astro event that we haven't talked about yet that you're most looking forward to?

Valerie:

There's another comet that they're expecting to be very close to Earth in October of this year. I cannot say the name of it, I did not want to try and butcher it, but the name that you could Google if you want to learn more is C/2023 A3. It's expected to be at its closest and brightest on October 12, 2024 and I am hopeful that if the comet survives its path toward the planet and the sun—because as comets get closer to the sun, they warm up and sometimes they break apart—I'm hopeful that we will get some really, really nice views of it and if we do, I'll be out there with my camera trying to get pictures of it. That would be my runner-up to the last item on our list.

Angie:

Let's talk about the last item on the list because I'm pumped about this one. Like I said, I'm traveling for this, I'm dragging relatives and we're taking off work, we are going to this one because I saw the one in 2017. Spoiler, it's an eclipse and it's on April 8, 2024. Tell us about it.

Valerie:

Sometimes the moon is further away and sometimes it's closer, and when it's further away, it makes a ring of fire eclipse and when it's closer, it fully blocks the sun. That's what we call a total solar eclipse, and that's what we're going to experience on April 8, 2024. This total solar eclipse is going to cut a path of totality—that’s what we call it—where that moon is completely obscuring the sun and it's going to pass from across Mexico, and then entering the United States and Texas, and running all the way across in a northeasterly direction. The path of the shadow of the moon will cross Texas and every state in between until it hits Maine, and then it will go out over the ocean and the eclipse will end. So, this big swath of the United States that didn't see the eclipse in 2017, when it went southeasterly from Oregon to South Carolina.

It's going to just be an incredible opportunity for a very populated part of the country to either see the partial eclipse—where you're not in that line of totality, so the moon is only partially obscuring the sun—or totality, where the moon is completely blocking the sun. As you and maybe many listeners know, having experienced it in 2017, there's nothing like it. There's nothing like an eclipse on this planet, even in astrotourism and the awe-inspiring wonders of the universe, eclipses are the cake, like the top of the top tier. It's very exciting. People are traveling. I don’t know where you're going. I'm actually lucky, I live in Cleveland. We're going to be in the path of totality, so if it's clear, I'm just going to go out in my backyard.

Angie:

So many people are in the path of it. We're talking 3-4 minutes of totality. It's basically the moon blocking out the sun in the middle of the day, which honestly, when I saw it in 2017, I was like, “Oh yeah, cool. I love space. Eclipses are cool, whatever.” I was awestruck, just fully speechless. Everybody was gasping with the beauty of it, but it was really something. We're really lucky that there was just one in 2017, and now we're having one in 2024 because the next one isn't for 20 years.

Valerie:

In the United States. You can travel elsewhere for eclipses. They do happen, like I said, they're pretty predictable. But yeah, if you want to just go in your backyard or close to where you live, this is the last one for many of us for a long time.

Angie:

Do you have any tips for viewing it?

Valerie:

If you are listening and you want to see this eclipse, my number one tip right now is to buy solar eclipse glasses even if you are not going to travel for totality because the totality is not the entire experience of the eclipse. You cannot look at an eclipse without eclipse glasses on. The sun will hurt your eyes, it will damage your eyes if you do not have eclipse glasses, and they sold out in 2017. There was a very notable public figure who looked at the last eclipse without glasses on and there was a news cycle about that. Don't be a news cycle! Buy your eclipse glasses now, get them before they sell out, and then you'll have an incredible experience and be able to actually appreciate it and not have to worry about eye damage.

Angie:

There's a ton of information about the eclipse, including where to get safe viewing glasses at eclipse.aas.org. That's the website for the American Astronomical Society.

Valerie:

If you do want to travel for totality and you're listening to this episode, your homework after this episode is to plan your trip because we are just a few weeks out from the event. Many, many places are fully booked out in terms of having overnight accommodations or anything in the area. You want to try and plan ahead to make sure you understand what route you're going to take, where you want to view, if you want overnight accommodations before or after. This is a morning eclipse, so if you don't want to have to get up at 4 a.m. to drive, you're going to want to be there the night before. You're going to need accommodations. There are all the travel logistics that go with trying to see this one.

Angie:

Pack your glasses, pack your patience, and pack your…

Valerie:

Enthusiasm?

Angie:

Prepare to be amazed. Valerie Stimac, thank you for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for being with us. 

If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch.

This podcast is a production of Auto Club Enterprises. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe and leave us a review. I'm Angie Orth, thank you for traveling with AAA.