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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 22, 2004

Astronomical events forecast for Year of Monkey

As the Chinese Lunar New Year draws near, the Beijing Planetarium's "Amateur Astronomer" magazine on Wednesday told Chinese people of major astronomical events that will take place in the "Year of Monkey".


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As the Chinese Lunar New Year draws near, the Beijing Planetarium's "Amateur Astronomer" magazine on Wednesday told Chinese people of major astronomical events that will take place in the "Year of Monkey".

According to the chief editor of "Amateur Astronomer" Qi Rui, atotal lunar eclipse will occur at 2 to 4 a.m. (Beijing time) on May 5. It will be visible over Asia, South America, Europe and Africa.

The total eclipse would be a spectacular sight when the Moon iswell within the Earth's shadow and deeply colored by the Earth's atmosphere, said Qi.

And when the eclipse happens that night, several planets -- Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter will shine brightly together in the western sky. Two comets -- C/2001Q4(NEAT) and C/2002T7(LINEAR),will appear in the darkness too.

Mid and late May will be the best time to observe NEAT in the Northern Hemisphere and mid-May is best for LINEAR observation in the Southern Hemisphere. The Beijing Planetarium would organize people to observe LINEAR in Australia, said Qi.

On May 21, Venus will be seen passing across the Moon. Northwest China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces will be the best place to watch it.

The rarest event in 2004 will occur at 1:13 to 7:25 (Beijing time) on June 8, when the planet Venus crosses the Sun as seen from Earth.

"The last occasion when this happened was 1882, over a century ago. The next time will be 2012 and the time after, 2117," Qi said.

Observers will be able to see it from most Chinese provinces. The planetarium will arrange observers to go to Dunhuang and Jiayuguan in Gansu Province.

Moreover, five meteor showers will be visible in 2004, namely Lyrids on April 21 to 22, Perseids on August 12, Orionids on October 21, Leonids on Nov. 17 and Geminids on Dec. 13, according to their forecast.


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