Brief But Intense Meteor Shower On January 4th

PolygamousRanchKid writes with this quote: "Sky watchers are in for their first treat of 2012, as the short but intense Quadrantid meteor shower will light up the northern sky in the early morning of Jan. 4. According to a NASA web page on the Quadrantids, there could be as many as 200 meteors per hour, though the average rate is about 60 to 100 per hour. ... The Quadrantids have not been studied as extensively as some of the better-known meteor showers like the Perseids and Geminids, possibly because it's best visible in far northern latitudes, where its appearance coincides with cold weather."

Well

[viperidaenz]

I for one support our new metoric overlords

Early morning

[Anonymous Coward]

... UTC, I have to assume.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean GMT? Morning has no meaning as applied to UTC.

Re:

[BarfooTheSecond]

3am "local time", they say on NASA web page... What "local" time?! Come on, NASA!

Re:Early morning

[edjs]

They're saying the best time to view the shower is after the moon sets, which will be roughly 3am local for each time zone.

Re:Early morning

[Hydian]

"Local Time" means exactly what it says. It is local to the reader/listener. You celebrated new years at midnight local time. The spot on the earth that will be pointing in the right direction to see the meteors will be located at a position where it is currently 3am. The direction will not change, but the earth will continue to rotate under it. It will continue to be 3am in that position (give or take a second or two to account for the earth's orbit) for the entire night.

Don't get mad at NASA because you don't understand time zones and their usage.

My wife is happy

[AG the other]

The 4th is our 37th wedding anniversary and the sky is celebrating.

Re:

[dmbasso]

Congrats! :)

Re:

[Bucky24]

That's a really good question, but considering that OP has been married 37 years that makes them at least 55 (assuming they were 18 when they married). So it's probably A or B. But then again I don't know OP so I have no idea :P

Re:

[jimshatt]

Supposing their kids (if any) were born -2 to +2 years of their marriage, I don't think option B would apply. 'Kids' that age should be able to handle that. But I don't know OP either, or his kids for that matter :)

Saying that the sky is celebrating sounds kinda religious though ;)

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[dotancohen]

Saying that the sky is celebrating sounds kinda religious though ;)

In a vacuum, it might sound that way. But not when one understands that the original topic of discussion was a meteor shower.

Re:

[jimshatt]

Yes, well, I did understand that, but my comment was about anthropomorphizing the skies. Or theomorphizing. Whatever.

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[dotancohen]

Actually, I thought it rather poetic (in the positive sense).

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[jimshatt]

Yes, yes, I don't disagree with that. But since GGGGGP's option A was to do with religion I thought I'd quip about that. Not a very good joke, I know... No harm intended anyway.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Have you stayed together this long because: A) You have a religious/social sense of obligation. B) You have kids, and separating would be too hard on them. C) You can't afford a divorce. D) You have an open relationship and regularly go on adventures without one another, but still like each other too. E) You actually still like each other, and would prefer to continue spending time together rather than every thing/one else you could be doing.

F) You've been together so long that you've developed an emotional (i.e. chemical) dependency, and being apart for too long results in unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

It happens. I know it from first hand experience. I had a choice: Resent it, or make lemonade. So I gave 110% and my partner responded with 120% and the last 8 years have been mind blowing. A woman in her 50's can be an amazing thing, given some nurturing. A really good investment. I recommend putting in the effort - mostly, shutting up and rea

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Our 37th wedding anniversary is on the 11th. Apparently there is no meteor shower scheduled on that date. Guess I'd better not tell the wife, she couldn't care less anyway!

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[JoeMerchant]

The 4th is our 37th wedding anniversary and the sky is celebrating.

As I understand meteor showers, she should be happy about a meteor shower on your anniversary every year, then.

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[AG the other]

Not as far as I recall.

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[JoeMerchant]

I see a reference to a Jan 3 peak here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrantids [wikipedia.org]

Basically, meteor showers come at the same time every year, since this one is so "sharp," (8 hours of sparkles) it probably is only worth watching at a particular longitude every 4 years or so (as the Earth rotates 365.25 times around the sun...), but, if you're willing to travel for it, this meteor shower should hit on or about Jan 4 every year, as the Earth passes through the constellation Boötes.

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[AG the other]

Thanks man. Astronomy is not my thing so I don't know much about it. I'll try to remember to look for it on our anniversary every election year.

 

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[mustPushCart]

A 37 year long marriage is just as amazing as a meteor shower. Gratz.

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[Limburgher]

Nice, congratulations!

Viewing locations and times to view the Quadrantid

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.spacedex.com/quadrantids/ [spacedex.com]

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[mapkinase]

75% moon will make it difficult to observe except for the brightest exemplars.

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[queBurro]

that's no moon...

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[rastos1]

I fully agree. It's a pity that the timezone is almost never mentioned in this kind of articles.

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[nedlohs]

Seriously???

You are up to date on the details that the moon orbits the Earth about once every month, while the Earth rotates once every day, right?

So given that and the statement "The waxing gibbous moon will set around 3 a.m. local time" can you work out what they mean by "local time".

The moon's daily trek across the sky is due to the rotation of the Earth, not the orbit of the moon. Hence the moon will set at 3am "local time" everywhere, excluding daylight saving time - but given it is the middle of winte

Re:

[Alphathon]

Cheers for that! I don't suppose you know why they list both the UK and Scotland in the times/locations list do you?

Plus it coincides with a lot of hangovers...

[Mister Liberty]

Go Quadrantids!
Max. will presumably occur during daylight hours in Europe, where I am.

bjd

Re:Plus it coincides with a lot of hangovers...

[Gordonjcp]

Apparently it'll be about 7am GMT, so it'll still be dark for an hour or so up here.

If it's cloudy where you are, then try listening for some meteor scatter [wikipedia.org] propagation. Get an FM broadcast radio, and tune for a distant station, well out of range. If a meteor burns up in the right part of the sky, the trail of ionised gas will reflect radio waves for a few seconds and you'll hear a "ping" of signal.

If you have a proper FM tuner and a directional aerial, try aiming it more-or-less at the direction the meteors are coming from.

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[Mister Liberty]

Thanks for the tips Gordo. Really appreciate them, though am aware of them.

Meteor watching more than anything else has the capacity to bring astronomy
and our place within the universe really home, to the uninitiated.
I'm in Holland btw.

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[Ihmhi]

Did... did you just tell people how to take a FM radio and basically make a Meteor Shower Sonar?

I HEREBY PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING:

1) That "Bill Nye" becomes a title much like Batman or Barney the Dinosaur which is passed on from person to person so that children and adults alike may understand that "Science Rules."

2) That Gordonjcp be nominated for said position, until he elects to resign or otherwise retire.

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[RivenAleem]

Also outshone by your gibbous moon.

Taking no chances

[Tasha26]

Rebooking my flight for the 5th.