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Comets and Asteroids LIVE

Comets and Asteroids LIVE

In an introduction to a new series of shows, join Slooh’s Paul Cox to observe comets and asteroids.  We’ll watch real-time images of these intriguing and potentially deadly objects direct from Slooh’s Canary Islands observatory.

Comet panSTARRS – A simple guide on how to see it

Comet panSTARRS – A simple guide on how to see it

How to see comet panSTARRS

PANSTARRS

Comet panSTARRS and the Moon March 12th 2013 (comet shape for illustration only) Credit: Meteorwatch

From the 7th of March 2013 and for the rest of the month, comet panSTARRS will be in the early evening skies of Northern hemisphere.

The comet has been visible to the naked eye in the Southern hemisphere and was bright enough to be seen in twilight skies from places such as New Zealand.

Hopefully Northern hemisphere countries such as the USA, Europe and Asia will get a chance to see one of this year’s bright comets. (more…)

Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2012

Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2012

Originally Posted on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens @darkskyman on twitter

Quadrantid Meteor

On the night of 03/04 January 2012 the first meteor shower of the year will take place, the Quadrantids. This shower ranks as one of the best performers of the year, assuming your skies aren’t clouded, as they so often are in winter. If the peak of this shower occurs under ideal conditions – i.e. perfectly clear skies, free from light pollution – then you can expect to see in excess of 100 meteors every hour. The peak for this shower is very brief though, so you’ll have to catch just the right conditions at just the right time to see a display this good. This year’s peak is estimated to occur just before dawn on 04 January 2012. (more…)

AstroEvents- Hunting things that “Flash” in the January Sky

AstroEvents- Hunting things that “Flash” in the January Sky

Credit: David Dickinsen

2012 is here, and the world shows no sign of ending as the heavens spin on their appointed rounds high overhead. But the diligent observer may be rewarded with several unique an spurious sights, both natural and manmade…

1st up is everyone’s favorite meteor shower named after an obsolete constellation; the Quadrantids peak the morning of January 4th in what is the first large meteor shower of the year. The peak is very swift, only lasting about 12 hours or so and is centered this year on 2:00 AM EST/7:00 AM UTC. This favors the U.S. East Coast in 2012, as the 79% waxing gibbous Moon will set around 2AM local the morning of the 4th for observers in mid-northern latitudes. The radiant of the shower lies at a declination of 52° degrees north at the junction of the modern constellations of Draco, Bootes and Hercules, and thus activity may be visible pre-midnite local, although the setting of the Moon and the rising of the radiant will raise sighting prospects considerably. Expect swift-moving meteors headed outward from the radiant above the handle of the Big Dipper to appear anywhere in the sky. The Quadrantids have been known since the early 1800’s, but there has been much conjecture as to the source parent body. Astronomer Fred Whipple noted in 1963 that the stream bears some resemblance to the Delta Aquarids, and that the orbital path has undergone alterations by the planet Jupiter in the last few thousand years. In 2003, SETI researcher Peter Jenniskens proposed that the source may be then recently discovered asteroid 2003 EH1, which has been tentatively linked to Comet C/1490 Y1, which approached Earth at a distance of 0.52 Astronomical Units on January 12th 1491. Be sure to keep an eye out for Quadrantids on these chilly January mornings, as we commemorate Quadrans Muralis, a constellation that is no longer! (more…)

Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2012: What You Might See

Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2012: What You Might See

Originally based on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman

The first meteor shower of 2012 is the Quadrantids, the peak of which falls on the night of the 03/04 January 2012. The Quadrantids shower has one of the highest predicted hourly rates of all meteor showers, comparable to the two great annual showers, the Perseids and the Geminids, occurring in August and December respectively. However unlike the Perseids and Geminids, the Quadrantids peak is very narrow, occurring over just a few short hours.

The predicted Zenith Hourly Rate (see my previous post about ZHR and what it actually means here) for the Quadrantids is around 120. The narrow peak is predicted to occur some time between 2100 UT on 3 January and 0700 UT on 4 January 2011, however the radiant of the shower – the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis – is very low in the evening hours, rising higher towards dawn, and so the best viewing times are later in this run, just before dawn. (more…)

Geminid Meteorwatch 2011

Geminid Meteorwatch 2011

Credit: Wally Pacholka

It’s the finale of this year’s meteor showers: The Geminids will start appearing on Dec. 7 and should reach peak activity around the 13th and 14th. This shower could put on a display of up to 100+ meteors (shooting stars) per hour under good viewing conditions.

However, conditions this year are not ideal with the presence of a waning gibbous Moon (which will be up from mid-evening until morning). But seeing meteors every few minutes is quite possible. Geminid meteors are often slow and bright with persistent coloured trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up.
(more…)

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