2020 to see rare planetary conjunction, says Armenian observatory chief
No solar eclipse will be visible in Armenia in 2020, Byurakan Observatory Director Areg Mikayelyan told a news conference on Friday.
According to Mikayelyan, at any single location on Earth, a total solar eclipse occurs only once every 300 years. "Armenia saw full solar eclipse once in the 70s and partial solar eclipses several times,” he said.
According to the Byurakan Observatory chief lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses, since the shadow cast by the Earth is larger than the Moon.
"Three lunar eclipses are expected to be visible in Armenia this year," Mikaelyan said.
He stressed four planets will come together in a rare planetary conjunction in 2020.
“Shootings stars (meteor trails) occur on the same days each year, when the Earth plows into a hole of tiny bits of stones. In this process thousands of small stones enter the earth's atmosphere and burn. We see the traces of that burning process as shooting starts,” Mikaelyan says.
A possible collision of an asteroid with the Earth can have much more dangerous consequences. “It can cause destructions. There are specialists who follow this phenomenon: Unfortunately, there is no such service in Armenia yet, but I have suggested that we launch it too,” he said.
Areg Mikayelyan says according to some estimates a not very large asteroid may collide with the Earth in 2049, but it’s more likely to fall into water areas.