"Falling stars" shoot (past) the moon
STARS FALLING / VENUS,
JUPITER, AND LUNA RISING
The biggest of the annual meteor showers (or maybe the second-biggest; it varies by year, and the competition doesn't swing by until December) is now underway.
Tonight is expected to be the peak of the Comet Swift-Tuttle* derived Perseid meteor shower, which has been known to hit 100 shooting stars per hour.
Best viewing generally is on toward dawn, at which time there'll also be another treat: More or less marking the spot whence the Perseids appear to radiate will be a line-up of Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent Moon. On the other hand, the moonlight may wash things out a little, making fainter streakers more difficult to spot.
So, what the heck -- if it's dark, and the sky is clear, and you're awake ... look up!
I did, a few evenings back, while taking out the rubbish, and I got my wish: a "star" to wish upon. (Though I haven't gotten my visible aurorae, yet.) I don't know whether the falling star I saw was a Perseid or one of the sparser Delta Aquarids that are also sprinkling our skies, as I was too busy being awed to properly mark the direction I was facing -- but it's all good.
If the skies don't clear, or even if they do, the next few nights will continue to offer (diminishing) meteor-watching opportunities. And meanwhile, SpaceWeather.com is hosting a gallery of submitted shooting-star photos from around the world -- and above it.
STARDUST-SEEDED CLOUDS
Oh! and speaking of comets and their incendiary offspring, it looks as if "meteor smoke" -- celestial dust left behind by shooting stars -- may provide the seed-stock for those aetherial noctilucent clouds. Pretty nifty.
(* Not, as autocorrect would have it, "Swift-Turtle.")
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.
JUPITER, AND LUNA RISING
The biggest of the annual meteor showers (or maybe the second-biggest; it varies by year, and the competition doesn't swing by until December) is now underway.
Tonight is expected to be the peak of the Comet Swift-Tuttle* derived Perseid meteor shower, which has been known to hit 100 shooting stars per hour.
Best viewing generally is on toward dawn, at which time there'll also be another treat: More or less marking the spot whence the Perseids appear to radiate will be a line-up of Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent Moon. On the other hand, the moonlight may wash things out a little, making fainter streakers more difficult to spot.
So, what the heck -- if it's dark, and the sky is clear, and you're awake ... look up!
I did, a few evenings back, while taking out the rubbish, and I got my wish: a "star" to wish upon. (Though I haven't gotten my visible aurorae, yet.) I don't know whether the falling star I saw was a Perseid or one of the sparser Delta Aquarids that are also sprinkling our skies, as I was too busy being awed to properly mark the direction I was facing -- but it's all good.
If the skies don't clear, or even if they do, the next few nights will continue to offer (diminishing) meteor-watching opportunities. And meanwhile, SpaceWeather.com is hosting a gallery of submitted shooting-star photos from around the world -- and above it.
STARDUST-SEEDED CLOUDS
Oh! and speaking of comets and their incendiary offspring, it looks as if "meteor smoke" -- celestial dust left behind by shooting stars -- may provide the seed-stock for those aetherial noctilucent clouds. Pretty nifty.
(* Not, as autocorrect would have it, "Swift-Turtle.")
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.