Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight With Bits of Halley's Comet (space.com) 19
An anonymous reader quotes Space.com:
If you're a meteor enthusiast, the year 2018 has been very kind to you. This past summer, the annual Perseid meteor shower reached its peak the day after a new moon, ensuring that no moonlight would hinder those spotting celestial streakers. And looking ahead to December, the Geminid meteor shower, the most prolific of all of the annual displays, will reach its peak when an almost-first-quarter moon is setting during the late evening hours. This will make for excellent viewing conditions. And coming almost midway between these two popular showers, this weekend brings one of the most reliable meteor events. A sort of lesser version of the summertime Perseids, the Orionid meteor shower should reach its peak activity early on Sunday morning...
[Y]ou should wait until around 2 a.m. in your local time zone, when Orion will have climbed well above the horizon. And just prior to the break of dawn, at around 5 a.m., Orion will appear highest in the sky toward the south. That's when Orionid viewing will be at its best... Past studies have demonstrated that about half of all observed Orionids leave trails that last longer than those of other meteors of equivalent brightness. This is undoubtedly connected to the makeup of Halley's Comet; the object produces meteors that start burning up very high in our atmosphere, at around 80 miles (130 km) up, possibly because they are composed of lightweight material. This suggests they came from the diffuse surface of Halley's nucleus as opposed to its core.
[Y]ou should wait until around 2 a.m. in your local time zone, when Orion will have climbed well above the horizon. And just prior to the break of dawn, at around 5 a.m., Orion will appear highest in the sky toward the south. That's when Orionid viewing will be at its best... Past studies have demonstrated that about half of all observed Orionids leave trails that last longer than those of other meteors of equivalent brightness. This is undoubtedly connected to the makeup of Halley's Comet; the object produces meteors that start burning up very high in our atmosphere, at around 80 miles (130 km) up, possibly because they are composed of lightweight material. This suggests they came from the diffuse surface of Halley's nucleus as opposed to its core.
December meteor showers? (Score:3)
"And looking ahead to December, the Geminid meteor shower, the most prolific of all of the annual displays, will reach its peak when an almost-first-quarter moon is setting during the late evening hours."
I live in Western Washington state, you insensitive clod! If I look up, all I'll get is a facefull of rain!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
We can't all be part of the lucky few who live in Newark - count yourself blessed.
Watched them just now (Score:5, Interesting)
Stood outside for about half an hour, and I counted five. One was a long streak, and my favorite was one that flashed as brightly as a star, but only for a very faint second.
It's not as active as others that I've watched, and it's quite a chilly night, but I don't ever tire from staring at the stars. It's easy to look at them briefly and just picture yourself staring at a picture above your head. But once you realize that you are literally standing on a rock passing through the vastness of space, and you are not even a speck of dust in comparison, it's both fascinating and humbling.
Halley (Score:2)
In 2062 when that sucker Halley returns we better have some rovers on its surface and an orbiter or two. In fact we need the rovers to land in the 2030s so we can catch the start of the outgassing and find some good vantage points.