I’m a little late with this… I usually try to give a “heads-up”, a week or two in advance.
Tomorrow, the night of Sunday 13th December to Monday 14th December is the peak of the Geminids meteor shower.
This is the annual shower of “shooting stars” that appear to emanate from the constellation of Gemini (however, they are NOT stars, just fragments of dust and rock debris burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere and they are also completely unrelated to the stars we describe as Gemini).
Nevertheless, the Geminids is a sky event well worth making an effort for. You MAY see a wonderful display of streaks of light across your sky, if you are blessed with dark and clear skies where you are.
The peak is expected around 5am UT (that’s the same as Greenwich Mean Time), but it should be worthwhile for you to look to the sky in the early hours at your local time. The Geminids is often a broad maximum, so you may be surprised. Anything around one meteor per minute, is very good!
Here is a sky map of where to look.
December Geminids Meteor Shower Radiant (click for larger image)
Best of luck.
The annual “Leonids” meteor shower takes place next week over the period Tuesday 17th to Wednesday 18th November.
What is it?
This shower of meteors (often wrongly called “shooting stars”) occurs every year. It happens when the Earth on its orbit about the Sun, passes through dust and rock remnants, left behind in the past by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The brief, bright streaks of light we may see in the night sky, result when this material burns in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Why is this shower called the “Leonids”?
Because the meteor trails APPEAR to originate in the constellation of Leo (the Lion), if you trace back an imaginary straight line across the sky.. (But note, they have no true connection with the stars we see in the constellation, which are MUCH further away)
This apparent origin is illustrated by the sky map below. It shows the position of Leo and the meteor shower radiant point, rising above the Eastern horizon at 1.00UT during the night of 17 – 18 November.
Leonids Radiant Rising In East, 1.00 UT, 18 Nov, Lat 51 N, Long 0 E (click for larger)
Is it worth looking this year?
It should be – the conditions are extremely favorable.
With the new Moon on 16th November, there will be scarcely any moonlight to disrupt observation of meteors.
Also, some meteor specialists have suggested there may be a strong, even “storm force” shower this year, such as occured in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
When exactly should you look for meteors?
Various specialists use models to try to predict exactly when the shower peaks (both minor peaks and major peaks) will occur. But these are only predictions, so it should be worth looking over the 17th – 18th period.
It will be best to look when the radiant point (see map above) is above your local horizon. The further South you are, the earlier in the night Leo will rise above your local East horizon.
Summary
Wrap-up warmly if you are spending time outdoors and good luck!
Very much enjoyed my first visit last Saturday, to the new Peter Harrison planetarium at the old Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Top of 35 Ton Bronze Dome of Harrison Planetarium
It was for the special SPA Greenwich event.
After setting off from Kent early, I reached Greenwich and parked on Crooms Hill with plenty of the time for the 9.45am (sharp – “latecomers will not be admitted”) start to the show.
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SPA Members Queue Outside Greenwich Planetarium
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Harrison Planetarium in front of Old Planetarium, plus Alt-Azimuth Building
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Mr Stone Photographs Mr Scagell Outside Greenwich Planetarium
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O2 (Millenium Dome) From Greenwich Observatory
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Naval College plus Canary Wharf from Greenwich Observatory
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Top of 35 Ton Bronze Dome of Harrison Planetarium
The presentation was given by Tony Sizer – it was a very interesting and visually stunning, look at the Night Sky.
The highlight for me, was the “Trip to the Southern Hemisphere”.
The whole audience got to view the constellation of Crux, the nearest stars to our own Sun – Proxima, Alpha and Beta Centauri – plus the Larger and Smaller Magellanic Clouds. All without leaving our seats!
Good fun and informative.
