Things Happening in 2021

 Happy New Year! To commemorate the start of the new year, I will talk about some events that you cannot miss in 2021. I will also talk about space missions in 2021.

Events:

1. The Quadrantid Meteor Shower: January 3

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower is an annual meteor shower. However, its window is only 6 hours. The meteor shower is predicted to start at 7:00 am PST. The moon may interfere with some observations.

2. Jupiter and Mercury Meet: March 5

Jupiter and Mercury will be seen just above the east-southeast horizon during dawn. They will be in very close conjunction and will be separated by just 0.35 degrees.

3. Supermoon: May 5

On May 5, the moon will be about 222,022 miles (357,311 km) which is the closest it has been since 2011. The moon will be like this for around 9 hours.

4. Total Eclipse of the Moon: May 26

This total lunar eclipse will be able to be seen on the shores of Western North and South America and as well as the shores of Australia and Eastern Asia. The moon will pass to the north center of the Earth’s umbra. The totality of the eclipse will only last 14.5 minutes. This is because the topmost part of the moon will only be 21 miles (34 km) from the edge.

5. Ring of Fire Annular Solar Eclipse: June 10

During this solar eclipse, the lunar disk from the Moon will look smaller (5.7%) because of its distance from Earth. This will cause the Sun to not be completely covered by the Moon, creating an effect of a ring of fire. This eclipse will be seen from Canada and Greenland.

Image of Annular Solar Eclipse on May 21, 2012

6. Perseid Meteor Shower: August 11 - 12

The best time to view this meteor shower is 10 p.m. local time. You will be able to see tiny streaks of light.

7. The Venus Show: Mid-September to End of 2021

Near the end of 2021, you will be able to see Venus in the sky every day.

Venus

8. Near-Total Eclipse of the Moon: November 19

People in North America will have a great view of this eclipse. It will take place during the predawn hours. The moon will slide to the southern portion of the Earth’s umbra. 

9. Total Eclipse of the Sun: December 4

This will be the final eclipse of 2021. However, it will only be visible from Antarctica. Due to the angle, you may be able to see it from Australia and New Zealand.

10. Geminind Meteor Shower: December 13 - 14

The Geminid Meteor Shower will hit its peak during the morning of December 14. There will be around 60 to 120 meteors streaking through the sky per hour.

Image of Geminid Meteor Shower

Space Missions:

1. Mars Missions

2021 will see three Mars missions done by three different countries. The first is NASA’s Perseverance rover. The second is UAE’s Hope Orbiter. Finally, there is China’s Tianwen-1. All three will reach Mars in February. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

Artists Render of NASA's Rover 
Perseverance on Mars

2. Starliner’s Uncrewed Test Mission

Starliner is Boeing’s answer to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. Starliner’s first uncrewed test was in 2019. However, the test was unsuccessful as the engines fired too early causing the Starliner Orbiter to miss the ISS.

3. Starliner Crew Test Flight

After Starliner’s Uncrewed Test Mission, Starliner will do a crewed test mission. Boeing states that this will happen sometime in June 2021.

4. ULA’s First Vulcan Rocket

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) will try its new rocket, the Vulcan Centaur Rocket in 2021. It will launch a Japanese rover to the Moon.

5. Debut of Blue Origin's New Rocket

Jeff Bezos company Blue Origin will launch its first orbital rocket in 2021. Named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the rocket can send 14 tons (13 metric tons) to geostationary orbit and 50 tons (45 metric tons) to LEO.

Render of Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket

6. James Webb Space Telescope Launch

Originally supposed to launch in 2020, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will replace the Hubble telescope. The telescope will launch on October 31, 2021. Check out my article on this blog for more information. 

7. NASA’s Lucy Missions

NASA announced a mission in October to study eight asteroids.

Image of JWST at JPL

8. NASA’s SLS Megarocket First Moon Mission

As a part of NASA’s Artemis Program, NASA will launch Artemis I. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight that will fly around the Moon in November of 2021. The mission is very important as it will pave the way to bring people back to the Moon in 2024.

9. Moon Landing by Houston’s Initiative Machines

A Houston based company will land a robotic lander on the Moon. The lander will fly on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The flight is sponsored by NASA.

10. SpaceX’s First Commercial Starship Launch

After finishing the rest of their tests in 2021, SpaceX will launch its first commercial payload across Starship. There is no fixed date as of yet.

11. Commercial Rocket Flight and Private Astronauts in the ISS

2021 had many companies making a rocket and private astronauts going to the ISS. These rocket companies include Virgin Orbit, Relativity Space, and Firefly Aerospace. 

Sources:

Howell, Elizabeth. “These Are the Space Missions to Watch in 2021.” Space.com, Space, 31 Dec. 2020, www.space.com/space-missions-to-watch-in-2021. 

Rao, Joe. “The 10 Must-See Night Sky Events to See in 2021.” Space.com, Space, 31 Dec. 2020, www.space.com/39231-top-skywatching-events-this-year.html.