Showing posts with label meteor shower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meteor shower. Show all posts
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Exciting! New Meteor Shower Camelopardalids
Go to bed early Friday night and set your alarm for the wee hours, as we have a brand new meteor shower coming our way. When we pass through the old dust trails left by Comet 209P/LINEAR, the radiant will appear to be in the constellation Camelopardalis, hence the name of the shower Camelopardalids. I'll be honest, I wasn't familiar with Camelopardalis until now. It lies in the northern sky between Ursa Minor, Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. Thus, this is prime viewing for us northerners. This shower will peak around 3:00 AM 5/24/2014, and from what I'm reading is going to be short lived. According to this Wikipedia article, there may be 100 to 400 MPH! I hope you have clear skies!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Quadrantid Meteor Shower 2012
Just a quick little post to start off 2012. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tomorrow morning between 2:00 and 3:00 AM EST. The moon will have set by this time to allow this shower to display nicely. 2011's major showers were mostly washed out from the bright moon, if you remember. If you can get up to take a peek, it may be worth it. This shower is capable of producing 50-100 meteors per hour! You can read more here. Good luck and stay warm!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Draconid Meteor Shower Tonight
The predictions for todays Draconid Meteor shower are that of an intense meteor storm. Cool! Earlier this year Canadian astronomer Paul Wiegert predicted that this shower could produce up to 1,000 meteors per hour!
However, this shower favors Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The Draconids peak during daytime in North America. Still, I think it's worth taking a look tonight anyway. The Moon will be bright, but there may still be plenty of meteors to see.
Draco is a circumpolar constellation, so can be found in the northern sky around Ursa Minor. Dress warm and happy hunting!
However, this shower favors Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The Draconids peak during daytime in North America. Still, I think it's worth taking a look tonight anyway. The Moon will be bright, but there may still be plenty of meteors to see.
Draco is a circumpolar constellation, so can be found in the northern sky around Ursa Minor. Dress warm and happy hunting!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tears of St. Lawrence
Folks, the annual Perseid meteor shower is upon us. This is a major shower, and can be considered the best shower of the year. The peak nights will be August 12/13th, and this year will be especially nice as the waxing crescent moon will set early in the evening. It's typical for this shower to reach a zenithal hourly rate of 60+.
The Perseid meteor shower is associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, and is so named because the radiant lies within the constellation Perseus. This shower has been observed annually for about 2000 years. The Catholics named the shower the Tears of St. Lawrence, since the date of his martyrdom is August 10. The average ZHR will probably be about 1 per hour for now, but as we near August 10 the ZHR could reach 15.
OK, so here's where to look, and how to look:
Perseus rises in the NW. This time of year it should be well above the horizon around 1:00 AM (for mid-northern latitudes). Did I say 1:00 AM? Yeah, it's best viewing meteor showers between 1:00 and 4:00 AM. Does that mean you can't see meteors before 1:00 AM? Sure, you can - it's just ideal to observe in the wee hours of the morning. Prepare for a meteor shower as you might for a night of fireworks. I like to lay out a blanket, but a lawn chair would be nice. Use bug repellent unless you want to have mosquitoes ruining the fun. If you can manage, I think it's a good idea to grab a fan and turn it on you - the bugs will have a hard time getting to you that way. As always, keep away from any direct source of light - meteors can be bright, but you still want to preserve your night vision for the fainter ones. I should add that you don't have to look at Perseus to see the meteors - they will be all over the sky - just radiating from Perseus. Look 20-40 degrees away from the radiant. Have fun!
The Perseid meteor shower is associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, and is so named because the radiant lies within the constellation Perseus. This shower has been observed annually for about 2000 years. The Catholics named the shower the Tears of St. Lawrence, since the date of his martyrdom is August 10. The average ZHR will probably be about 1 per hour for now, but as we near August 10 the ZHR could reach 15.
OK, so here's where to look, and how to look:
Perseus rises in the NW. This time of year it should be well above the horizon around 1:00 AM (for mid-northern latitudes). Did I say 1:00 AM? Yeah, it's best viewing meteor showers between 1:00 and 4:00 AM. Does that mean you can't see meteors before 1:00 AM? Sure, you can - it's just ideal to observe in the wee hours of the morning. Prepare for a meteor shower as you might for a night of fireworks. I like to lay out a blanket, but a lawn chair would be nice. Use bug repellent unless you want to have mosquitoes ruining the fun. If you can manage, I think it's a good idea to grab a fan and turn it on you - the bugs will have a hard time getting to you that way. As always, keep away from any direct source of light - meteors can be bright, but you still want to preserve your night vision for the fainter ones. I should add that you don't have to look at Perseus to see the meteors - they will be all over the sky - just radiating from Perseus. Look 20-40 degrees away from the radiant. Have fun!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Bootids Meteor Shower
Has the recent flyby of McNaught got you in the mood for observing other comets and meteors? It's had that effect on me. We can look forward to welcoming summer with the June Bootids meteor shower from around (the dates for this shower vary slightly) June 22 to July 1, peaking Sunday, June 27. This annual shower isn't exactly known for extravagant displays, but rather for its inconsistency. The normal hourly rate is probably less than 5 for most years, but in 1998 the ZHR was up to 100! Some predictions say there's another chance for such an outburst this year. The moon will be full at the end of the month, but either way, I say "what the heck". Relax, pull up a lawn chair and grab those binoculars! You never know what you'll see unless you get out there.
Sources:
meteorshowersonline
spaceweather.com
Where to look
Sources:
meteorshowersonline
spaceweather.com
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