小满丨万物可期

“枇杷黄后杨梅紫，正是农家小满天。”《中国天文年历》显示，5月21日9时23分迎来2022年“小满”节气。

天象预报

小满

芒种

太阳

在金牛座运行。目前太阳活动性有所增强，太阳正面上有5群黑子，可通过带减光的望远镜观测。

月亮

5月23日2时43分下弦月，月亮半夜升起，次日早晨高悬于南方天空。

水星

在金牛座逆行。5月22日水星下合日，此后由昏星变为晨星，但离太阳太近不可见。

金星

由双鱼座向白羊座顺行，5月27日10:51金星合月，地心所见金星在月球以北仅0.2度的地方，尽管是白天，但金星足够明亮，仍然可以尝试用望远镜寻找。对于中国东南沿海、东南亚、马达加斯加岛南部，还可以看到白昼月掩金星的天象。

火星

在双鱼座顺行。5月25日，火星合月与木星合月同日发生，天亮前在东南方向可见一轮残月与两星相伴升起。

木星

在双鱼座顺行。5月29日火星合木星，地心所见火星在木星以南0.63度的地方。日出前可见这两颗星在东方低空并排闪耀。

土星

在摩羯座顺行。5月22日土星合月，在日出前的南方天空。

流星雨

根据国际流星组织预报，北京时间5月31日13时，武仙座τ流星雨将迎来极大。流星雨的母体是彗星73P，彗星的分裂和喷发出的物质可能会导致这次流星雨活动增强，甚至有可能出现流星暴，不过，流星爆发的规模相对较难预测，实际情况有待当天验证。可惜的是，我国正是白天，无法观测，不过可以守在电脑前，看看国外尤其是北美爱好者的实况播报和直播，或者在30和31日晚上守候。

小

知

识

随着太阳进入第25个活动周期，太阳开始变得活跃，爆发频繁，最直观的表现就是黑子增多。

太阳黑子是太阳光球层（可见光波段）上的黑色斑块。黑子之所以“黑”，是因为比周围光球区域的温度（达6000℃）低。在明亮光球背景的衬托下，看起来就是黑色斑点。实际上，黑子温度仍然高达4500℃，比沸腾的钢水还热。

太阳黑子是太阳上的强磁场区域，强度约在1000-4000高斯之间，比地磁场高上万倍。强磁场能够抑制太阳内部能量通过对流的方式向外传递，从而导致了这一区域温度的降低，形成黑子。

太阳黑子的数量和位置经常发生变化。长期观测表明，太阳黑子变化有规律性，其周期大约是11年。太阳黑子数量从周期初始逐渐增加，达到峰值后缓慢减少；太阳黑子在周期初始首先出现在南北纬±35度区域，然后逐渐向低纬度靠近，在周期末期接近南北纬±5度区域。

The Grain Buds

On May 21th, 09:23, the longitude of the Sun reaches 60º, which marks the arrival of the Grain Buds, the eighth solar term of the year. Grain Buds is one of those solar terms that reflect agriculture. At this time, wheat starts to mature and grains of rice start to appear, showing signs of an upcoming harvest.

Astronomical Forecast

Grain Buds

     ✦     

 Grain in Ear

⊙

The Sun

✦

The Sun travels in Taurus. At present, solar activities are increasing. On the front surface of the Sun, 5 groups of sunspots can be observed through a telescope with a light filter device.

☽

The Moon

✦

On May 23th, 02:43, the Moon is in the last quarter. It rises during midnight and hangs high in the southern sky the next morning.

☿

Mercury

✦

Mercury travels in retrograde motion in Taurus. On May 22th, it experiences inferior conjunction that cannot be observed and turns from an evening star to a morning star; however, due to its close distance to the Sun, it cannot be seen.

♀

Venus

✦

Venus travels from Pisces to Aries in prograde motion. It is at conjunction with the Moon on May 27th 10:51，appearing just 0.2º to the north of the Moon. Although the conjunction takes place during daytime, Venus is so bright that it might be found through a telescope. For the south-eastern coast of China, south-east Asia and southern Madagascar, the lunar occultation of Venus can be observed as well.

♂

Mars

✦

Mars travels in prograde motion in Pisces. It experiences conjunction with the Moon on May 25th, the same day as Jupiter’s conjunction with the Moon. Before dawn, the Moon will rise with the two planets in the south-eastern sky.

♃

Jupiter

✦

Jupiter travels in Pisces in prograde motion. On May 29th, Mars and Jupiter are at conjunction. Seen from the center of Earth, Mars is located at 60º to the south of Jupiter. The two planets can be seen shining side by side in the low eastern sky before sunrise.

♄

Saturn

✦

Saturn travels in prograde motion in Capricorn. On May 22th, Saturn and the Moon conjunct in the southern sky before sunrise.

Meteor Shower

✦

According to the forecast from International Meteor Organization, on May 31th, 13:00 UTC+8, the tau Herculids reaches a peak. The parent body of this meteor shower is Comet 73P. The matter ejected from the splitting comet might increase the activity of this meteor shower. There is the possibility that the meteor shower will turn into a meteor storm; nevertheless, the actual situation can only be determined on the day because the scale of a meteor shower is relatively difficult to predict. Unfortunately, China is in the daytime during the meteor shower, so it is a pity that the event cannot be observed; however, you can still stay in front of a computer and watch the live broadcasts from foreign regions, especially North America, or you can try waiting for the meteor shower on the night of May 30th and 31th.

轮值主编：王英

制作、编辑：王科超

英文版设计：朱曼清

（金陵中学）ZHU manqing