This Crazy Cosmos » Meteor Shower

Geminids a washout

Mike — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:54:08 +0000

The Geminid meteor shower is usually the best show of the year as far as meteor showers go. But a full moon will pretty much wash out most of this year’s meteors during the peak of the Geminids show.

However, you should still be able to see the two bright stars not too far from tonight’s full moon. Castor and Pollux belong to the constellation Gemini, which is the radiant of the Geminid shower.

Leonid Meteor Shower

Mike — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:21:00 +0000

The Leonid meteor shower peaks on November 18th, in what astronomers are calling an average show this year. Sky gazers can see anywhere from 10 to 15 meteors an hour, which is pretty typical for this shower. Look toward the constellation Leo and it’s brightest star Regulus. A nice bonus this year is the appearance of the planet Saturn, just below Leo.

astronomy.com

space.com

wikipedia.org

Perseid Meteors Peak August 12th

Mike — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 06:43:19 +0000

Great article about some meteor showers coming up soon, on http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/8710437.html

The Perseid Meteors have great timing this year because the peak of the shower is expected around the weekend of August 12th. However, it’s a fairly large stream, which means you can usually see alot of meteors the day before and after the peak of the storm. Plus there will be a new moon, so if you have dark skies, you’ll see a great show.

A little advance planning for a camping trip to a dark sky location, like a nice state park, is a great way to watch meteor showers. I’ve done it before, and just happened upon an astronomy club that had the same idea. That was a really fun night of stargazing!