Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The first meteor shower of 2013 originates from an asteroid.
Cloud cover and moonlight could obscure the Quadrantid Meteor Shower early Thursday in Montgomery County. A Weather Underground forecast predicts cloud cover of 30-40 percent in the area. According to NASA, the meteor rates will increase after midnight and peak between 3 a.m. and dawn. To get the best view, get away from city lights and go outside early to let your eyes adjust to the night sky. To find the right section of the sky to watch, first locate the Big Dipper, Meteor Blog recommends. Then you'll be able to more easily locate the Bootes constellation nearby, where the meteors will appear to radiate from. Although the maximum number of meteors per hour is around 120, the strong light of the waning gibbous moon will make fainter …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Where and when to look for the last major meteor shower of 2012.
The Geminid meteor shower 2012, the final major meteor shower of every year and likely to be the best, peaks overnight this Thursday and Friday, and you may be able to see a great show on either side of those dates. NASA reports that the Geminids are a relatively young meteor shower, with the first sightings occurring in the 1830s with rates of about 20 per hour. Over the decades the rates have increased, regularly spawning between 80 and 120 per hour at its peak on a clear evening. Earthsky.org reports the Geminids peak might be around 2 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, because that’s when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world. "With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for …
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Shooting stars will be flying early in the morning, but it promises to be a show worth watching.
The offspring of Halley's Comet are about to put on quite a show over the skies of Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Earth passes through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet beginning Oct. 15, which gives us the benefit of the annual Orionid meteor shower, though you probably won't see much until a bit later. The shower should be at its best the night of Saturday, Oct. 20, until just before dawn on Oct. 21. This year, the moon will be setting at about midnight, which will keep the sky dark enough that—barring cloud cover—you should be able to see up to 15 meteors per hour. Francis Reddy, science writer for NASA Goddard's Astrophysics Science Division, and author of the book Celestial Delights: The Best Astronomical Events Through…
Friday, August 31, 2012
The next calendar month to boast two full moons will be July 2015.
Ever heard the phrase, “Once in a blue moon?” A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, and as the saying implies, it’s a pretty rare occurrence. Tonight, however, skywatchers are in luck. Aug. 31 marks the second full moon this month, following a full moon on Aug. 1 and 2, NASA reports. The moon completes its orbit around the earth every 29.5 days, so every now and again, two full moons can make an appearance within a typical 30- or 31-day month. Tonight's will be the last until July 2015. So does the term have anything to do with the moon’s color? No, according to NASA. “Most blue moons look pale gray and white, indistinguishable from any other moon you've ever seen. Squeezing a second full moon into a calendar month doesn…
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Full moon will be closest to Earth in nearly 20 years.
Grab your telescopes and cameras and look to the heavens Saturday night. That’s when we’re in for another “Super Moon.” Astronomers are saying that this Super Moon will be even more super than usual. “The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993,” Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. told USA Today. This Super Moon (a phrase coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979) will appear especially large because the moment of perigee—when the moon is closest to the Earth in its monthly rotation—will coincide with the appearance of a perfectly full moon, Smithsonian points out. During last year’s Super Moon on March 19, 2011, for comparison, the perigee and full moon were 50 minutes apart. On …
Laura L Thornton
4:31 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Good question! Earthsky.org says that "the meteors will appear in all parts of the sky. Find an open sky and – if possible – a sky sheltered from artificial lighting." Here's to seeing some meteors tonight! http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/ten-tips-for-watching-the-geminid-meteor-shower more ›