Geminids on the 13th

“But first, I'd just like to say a word about Texas... er... the Leonids, LOL!

It Ought to be the last one, I Swear...


NASA Science News for November 30, 2001

During the 2001 Leonid meteor storm, astronomers observed a curious flash on the Moon -- a telltale sign of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface and
exploding. In this story, experts describe the physics of lunar Leonid explosions ... and speculate about meteor showers for observers living on the Moon.

Full Story


Now on to the Geminids. The Zenithal Hourly Rate will be lots closer to 120 than the Leonids' 1500-2500, but hey... Back to Reality! It's still one of the best showers on the year and the Moon will be out of the way.

Hmmm... 04h UTC is midnight EST on the night of the 13/14... and I put '14th' in the title of the thread! *ARGH*

Oh Matt...”

“cool, i appreciate you posting these showers. it isn't something i think of looking for but i sure do enjoy them.”

“That's the great thing about naked-eye Astronomy. It doesn't take any kind of investment... and wackos like us are usually outside in the dark anyway, LOL. We know in advance if the Moon is going to be out of the way or not. So, basically, all we need is for the weather to cooperate.

G-d knows that doesn't always happen, but what the hey...

I was just noticing that there are three other showers that occur at the same time, but the hourly rates actually peak at like 3 or 4. The folks out there collecting the data on those --- THAT's dedication, *G*.”

“3 or 4. Thats the time of day, not the number of "shooters," right???”

“Nooooo... that's How Many per Hour, LOL

Monocerotids, Dec 9, 3.
sigma-Hydrids, Dec 11, 2.
Coma Berenicids, Dec 19, 5.


And here are some nifty Leonids' results in graphical form. You just have to scroll down the page a little. Quite a contrast to 2, 3 or 5 per hour, eh?”

“boing!”

“Thursday night, gang.”

“Got anymore info...peak time? etc.?

btw - A partial solar eclipse will occur this Friday afternoon at just about sundown.”

“Cool deal! Thanks for the eclipse reminder.

Here are a few more 'what's happening' type links:

Sky & Telescope

Astronomy Mag

The Really funky stuff... newly dicovered Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, Near Earth Objects, Comets, Supernovae and whatnot.


About those Geminids....

The actual peak is around midnight eastern time, but you ought to be able to see some of those 'earthgrazers' before that (those are the ones that go a long way across the sky).

Meteors are usually better after midnight no matter when the radiant is supposed to rise... due to the 'bugs on the windshield' effect, *G*. After midnight, we're on the leading side of the planet as it passes through the stream of meteoroids.

Yeah, I'll take meteoroids over those Other 'roids any day.

Good luck folks! I just checked the weather again and I'm totally screwed on this one, LOL! It's against Murphy's Law to see two in a row.”

“TONIGHT, TONIGHT... We'll see the Geminids tonight... (to quote and adapt that darn musical song)

Hope it's not cloudy... BUT, from what I see, there's good odds of clouds. *pout*”

“Can a homie get some clear skies???”

“cloudy tonight, with showers after midnight...no, not Geminids -THUNDER showers!!!

sigh
:\”

“From where I'm at it looks like some of you folks will be able to see the shootin' stars tonight.”

“Same here AmyG. Supposed to snow, only lightly though. This sucks. The last three meteor showers it has been cloudy.”

“Solid overcast here, too! There are couple of other things happening in the next few days, tho':


Space Weather News for Dec. 13, 2001


The days ahead are good ones for sky watchers.

First, the annual Geminid meteor shower -- one of the year's best -- peaks Thursday night and Friday morning (Dec. 13th and 14th). If predictions are correct, as many as 100 shooting stars each hour will stream out of the
constellation Gemini.

Then, on Friday, Dec. 14th, the Moon will glide in front of the Sun for a solar eclipse visible from Hawaii and much of the Americas.

After sunset on Friday and again on Saturday, Dec. 15th, high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for possible Northern Lights triggered by recent solar eruptions.

And finally, on Dec. 15th and Sunday, Dec. 16th, an unusually big and bright near-Earth asteroid named 1998 WT24 will race across northern skies. Amateur astronomers can see the approximately 9th-magnitude object
using modest backyard telescopes.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for observing tips and more information.”

“

Not exactly Spectacular, but what the hey...”

“This weather sucks... Fog as thick as Pea-Soup !”