Poster production: Feng Juan
Astronomy Science Popularization Experts introduced that from October 8 to 12, the 2nd asteroid Zhishenxing will "swim in a group" with the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius . On the evening of the 9th, the two were closest. Under the excellent weather conditions, in the second half of the night to before dawn of these days, the interested public in our country will be expected to see the close-range "date" of these two different types of celestial bodies through the small astronomical telescope .
asteroid belt schematic diagram. (Photo provided by Tianjin Astronomical Society)
Director of Tianjin Science Popularization Writers Association and member of Beijing Astronomical Society , introduced that modern astronomy observations have confirmed that there are about 500,000 asteroids in an area between the orbit of Mars and the orbit of Jupiter , so it is also called the asteroid belt here. Among them, Zhishen is the larger one in the asteroid belt. It is the second asteroid discovered in human history, so it is also called the second asteroid.
Beijing astronomy enthusiast Wang Junfeng took Sirius on April 16, 2022 at the Baicaoban Nature Scenic Area in Fangshan, Beijing. (Photo provided by me)
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, darkening from Venus and Jupiter, and brightening from Mars most of the time. Sirius generally refers to Sirius A, and its main system consists of a blue and white blue dwarf and a blue white dwarf .
This time, these two different types of celestial bodies met up close. After 1 o'clock every day from October 8 to 12, it is easier to observe the scene of Zhishen and Sirius "swim in a group", and the western region is even later. These days, the angular distance between the two is within 1 degree (1 degree is approximately equivalent to the apparent diameter of 2 full moons). The "most intimate moment" happened on the evening of the 9th, with the angular distance of the two being less than 7 angular points, which is likely to be the closest distance between the two beings in the 21st century, but at this time they have not yet risen in our country, so they are invisible; after midnight, that is, in the early morning of the 10th, Zhishen and Sirius rose, and the angular distance between the two being about 8 angular points, and they are still "closely next to each other".
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and The scientific team of the University of Arizona made a model map of the Zhishen Star based on existing observation data (left); EMEA's European Southern Observatory (right).
"The brightness of Zhishen is only 8.7, which cannot be seen by the naked eye. It needs to be observed with a small astronomical telescope. If the weather conditions are excellent, during these 5 days, the public who is interested in my country can be located in the low altitude of Sirius in the east as a reference, and its brightness reaches -1.4, which is 10,000 times that of Zhishen. For veteran astronomy enthusiasts, after finding Sirius, it will be easier to find Zhishen based on the star map; it is difficult for astronomy enthusiasts who are just starting out, and they need enough care and patience. Publics who like astronomical photography can use these days to try to photograph the visual motion trajectory of Zhishen near Sirius to deepen their understanding of the movement of asteroids." Liu Dongyu said.
Planning: Liu Xinhui
Reporter: Zhou Runjian
Editor: Company Commander Yan, Tang Jianhui
Xinhua News Agency Domestic and Tianjin Branch jointly produced
Starry Sky Studio Produced by
