Tuesday, January 1, 2013
The first meteor shower of 2013 begins Tuesday over the skies of Cumming.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is named for an extinct constellation, but the shooting stars that seem to sprout from it still arrive yearly, and the opening of the 2013 show will begin overnight Jan. 1 into Jan. 2. The Quadrantids is one of the lesser-known meteor showers of the year, but that doesn't mean it's anything less than spectacular. Take a look at this Quadrantids meteor shower video or these pictures of the Quadrantids. While the shower begins overnight on the first day of the new year, NASA tells us Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in the wee morning hours of Jan. 4: "[T]he Quadrantids have a maximum rate of about 100 per hour, varying between 60-200. The waxing gibbous moon will set around 3 a.m. local time, leaving about two …
Friday, November 16, 2012
The Leonid Meteor Showers are fast and bright and will appear to radiate from the constellation Leo the Lion in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 17.
As you begin hanging holiday lights, cast your gaze upon the universe's natural fireworks, as well. Astronomers anticipate several meteor showers to take place over the next month. Nov. 17: Leonid Meteor Shower Dec. 13: Geminid Meteor Shower Be sure to schedule a night this season to bundle up with some blankets, hot chocolate, and enjoy the light show in the sky. Don't have access to a telescope? The North Georgia College & State University’s Coleman Planetarium in Dahlonega (about 28 miles from Cumming) invites you and your family for star gazing. Check out the fall schedule featuring "Public Education Nights" on most Fridays at 8 p.m. You might also be interested in reading: Shooting Stars to Light Up the Sky Felix Baumgartner Lands…
Friday, October 19, 2012
The Orionids meteor shower promises to be a show worth watching in Forsyth County.
The offspring of Halley's Comet are about to put on quite a show in the sky above Alpharetta and Milton. Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet that started earlier this week, which will give us the benefit of the annual Orionids meteor shower—though you probably won't see much until a bit later. The shower should be at its peak the night of Saturday, Oct. 20, until just before dawn on Oct. 21. This year, the moon will be setting at approximately midnight, which will keep the sky darkened enough that—barring cloud cover—you should be able to see up to 15 meteors per hour. NASA says the best time to look is before sunrise on Sunday, Oct. 21. That's when Earth encounters the densest part of Halley's debris stream. …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The best viewing of the annual Orionid Meteor Shower is underway.
This year has been a "stellar" year for sky watching. Here on Cumming Patch, we've enjoyed the Transit of Venus and the Perseids. And though we're not expecting hundreds of thousands of meteoroids shooting through space during this shower, the upcoming week starts probably the most spectacular of meteor showers, the Orionids - the offspring of Halley's Comet. Orionid meteors are among the fastest of all shower meteors, striking Earth’s upper atmosphere at 148,000 mph. And fast meteors have a tendency to explode! Many of the fireballs will leave persistent incandescent trains, glowing tubes of ionized gas, that linger long after the initial flash is noticed. According to NASA Science, "such filaments of meteor smoke twisted by upper …
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
If you are willing to brave the cold weather Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning you may see a light show.
New Year's Eve may be a distant memory, but tonight into early Wednesday morning the real fireworks are expected to light up the sky. The first major shower of 2012 is the Quadrantids meteor shower. According to Spacedex.com, the best time for those of us in Georgia to star gaze will be Tuesday night at 9 p.m. through 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. During this time you should see 40 to 70 meteors per hour. If you live near a brightly lit area, its recommended that you drive far enough away from the glow of lights and look toward the horizon and not straight up. And if you plan to star gaze, bundle up very cold temperatures are expected to be in the teens to lower 20's for tonight.
dante the curious
11:36 am on Sunday, November 18, 2012
excitied this is my baby sisters first one more ›