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| Supermoon over the Lincoln Memorial (NASA) |
by Peggy Robin
2020 is just a few days away – a good time to take a peek at
the year to come. No puns here about perfect vision to see what’s ahead – just
a run-through of a few noteworthy dates, historic anniversaries, and
astronomical events.
First of all, 2020 is a leap year! Pregnant ladies with
a due date around the end of February, your child could be a Leapling! And
spend a lifetime hearing lame jokes about being just three in 2032, and four in
2036, ad nauseum….
Next on the agenda: the year’s palindrome date(s). In
case you didn’t know, a palindrome date reads the same forwards and backwards
-- and there’s only one in 2020: February 2, 2020. That’s 02-02-2020 –
the only day in the 21st century that’s a palindrome in both month/day/year
format AND day/month/year format. If you give birth to a child on this day, may
we suggest the following baby names: Girls: Anna, Ada, Eve, Hannah. Boys: Bob,
Otto.
On to the Year in Astronomy (all events are from
SeaSky.org - http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2020.html)
Let’s start with the Supermoons. Those are full moons
that appear larger and brighter than usual, occurring when a full moon closely
coincides with perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.
There are four Supermoons this year: February 9, March 9, April 8, and May 7.
Next up: the Blue Moon (that’s a second full moon in
the same month). You’ll see it on Halloween, October 31, 2020. Of course, it’s
not a great rarity as the phrase, “once in a blue moon” implies. You might
think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon when it’s actually something that
happens every 2-3 years. The next one after the Halloween Blue Moon of 2020
will be on August 1, 2023. [You can see the list of blue moon through 2039
here: https://www.moongiant.com/Blue_Moon_Calendar.php]
From the moon to the sun: There will be a total
solar eclipse in 2020, but you will need to go to the southern hemisphere
to see it. The path of totality will only be visible in parts of southern Chile
and southern Argentina. A partial eclipse will be visible in most parts of
southern South America, the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the southern
Atlantic Ocean. [NASA Map and Eclipse Information - https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20201214]
And on to the planets: On the winter solstice, December 21,
2020, get yourself access to a telescope to view the rare conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn. “This rare conjunction of these two planets is known as a great
conjunction. The last great conjunction occurred in the year 2000. The two
bright planets will appear only 7 arc minutes of each other in the night sky.
They will be so close that they will appear to make a bright double planet.
Look to the west just after sunset for this impressive and rare planetary
pair.” [Description from http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2020.html]
From the heavenly bodies to earthly personages – here are
some noteworthy birthdays and anniversaries.
On January 19, we can celebrate the 100th birthday of the
ACLU.
In the spring and summer, you will be sure to hear a lot
about the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. May 8th marks the
end of the war in Europe and September 2nd marks the end of the war in the
Pacific.
On May 8th, you can blow out 200 birthday candles for Florence
Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing. Or just celebrate with any nurse
that you know.
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution
is passed – so this August 26 is the centennial of women’s suffrage.
On November 11th it’s the 400th anniversary of the
arrival of the Mayflower at Cape Cod. They remained on the ship and signed
the Mayflower Compact. The explored the coast for a place to make their permanent
settlement and arrived at Plymouth Rock on December 21, 1620.
Sometime around the middle of December (no one is sure of
the exact date!), we can celebrate the 250th birthday of Ludwig van
Beethoven. Play the Ode to Joy!
And now for an anniversary that really, really takes us
back…..2,500 years to 480 BC (August or September, it’s hard to be sure) to the
Battle of Thermopylae. Don’t know about this ancient, world-changing
battle? It was dramatized in the movie “300” with King Leonidas (played by
Gerard Butler) and the 300 Spartans heroically holding off the Persians at the
pass at Thermopylae. They all died, but they cost the Persians 20,000 men and
arguably bought time for the Greeks to reevaluate, change strategy and
ultimately end the Persian invasion. The dominance of the Greek Empire in
the ancient world has all kinds of reverberations throughout the history of the
West, too numerous to mention. But just think of what it would be like if the
Persians had won, and we ended up using Persian letters for our college
fraternities and sororities!
When someone looks back hundreds or even thousands of years
from 2020, let’s hope it’s for the good things that happened, not the bad!
Happy New Year to All!
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Still Life with Robin is published on The Cleveland ParkListserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
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