The 2009 Geminid Meteor Shower

[Marduk2012 Profile]

Nice...did you see anything, Slush?

[Hansom Profile]

Thanks for the reminder slush
Might get to see a few here in the uk.
Hope you get a cold crisp clear night when it peaks on the 13th.
As they say "keep you eyes to the skies"

[Dirttyrabbit Profile]

Mercury is point of celestial triangle
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/78036347.html
December stargazers will see two full moons
Published on Sunday, Nov 29, 2009

December begins with the full moon within one degree of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, and ends with a blue moon, the term for a second full moon in the month. New Year's Eve will feature a partial lunar eclipse, but you will have to be in Africa or Asia to see it. Look for Mercury, an evening star, on Dec. 24 at 5:55 p.m. Mercury will form the bottom point of an equilateral triangle with Jupiter (above and to the south) and Altair, the eye of the Eagle (above and to the west). By the end of December, Mercury will appear as a slim crescent in a telescope.

Venus rises 20 minutes before sunrise on the first of the month, but by midmonth, it becomes hidden in the sun's glare. Mars appears to describe an arc on the border of Leo and Cancer in the night sky as it moves in retrograde, ''backwards,'' this month. Mars rises at 10 p.m. on the first of the month; only Jupiter and Sirius are brighter in the night sky. Jupiter stands right in the south at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 15 minutes after sunset. At 7 p.m., Uranus is right in the south, about 45 degrees above the horizon at magnitude 5.8, visible to the unaided eye under dark, clear skies.

The ringed giant Saturn rises in the east at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday. The ring system will be tipped about 5 degrees by month's end, closing down to 2 degrees in May, and at the end of 2010, will be open about 10 degrees. Not until 2014 will the rings be fully open at 20.2 degrees inclination. On Dec. 20 at 8 p.m., note Jupiter and a waxing crescent moon in the southwest. In a pair of 7x50 binoculars, you may spot Neptune only half a degree distant from Jupiter, at about the 2 o'clock position.

On the evening of Dec. 13 into the morning of the 14th, the Geminid meteor shower peaks. This shower is fairly reliable, producing up to 100 meteors an hour. The moon will not interfere with viewing this multi-colored display — more than half usually white, a quarter yellow, and the remaining meteors blue, red and green. Only about 25 years ago did NASA discover an object in the same orbit as the Geminid meteoroid stream, a rocky asteroid or extinct comet named 3200 Phaethon. This is most probably the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower. On Dec. 22, the Ursid shower peaks. Only about 10 faint meteors an hour may be seen, and fortunately the moon will not be visible this evening, either. The shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, will be Monday, Dec. 21.

The Ursids meteor activity begins annually around December 17th and runs for a week plus, until the 25th or 26th. This meteor shower is named for its radiant point which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellation Ursa Minor.

[Marduk2012 Profile]

Mercury is point of celestial triangle
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/78036347.html
December stargazers will see two full moons
Published on Sunday, Nov 29, 2009

December begins with the full moon within one degree of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, and ends with a blue moon, the term for a second full moon in the month. New Year's Eve will feature a partial lunar eclipse, but you will have to be in Africa or Asia to see it. Look for Mercury, an evening star, on Dec. 24 at 5:55 p.m. Mercury will form the bottom point of an equilateral triangle with Jupiter (above and to the south) and Altair, the eye of the Eagle (above and to the west). By the end of December, Mercury will appear as a slim crescent in a telescope.

Venus rises 20 minutes before sunrise on the first of the month, but by midmonth, it becomes hidden in the sun's glare. Mars appears to describe an arc on the border of Leo and Cancer in the night sky as it moves in retrograde, ''backwards,'' this month. Mars rises at 10 p.m. on the first of the month; only Jupiter and Sirius are brighter in the night sky. Jupiter stands right in the south at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 15 minutes after sunset. At 7 p.m., Uranus is right in the south, about 45 degrees above the horizon at magnitude 5.8, visible to the unaided eye under dark, clear skies.

The ringed giant Saturn rises in the east at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday. The ring system will be tipped about 5 degrees by month's end, closing down to 2 degrees in May, and at the end of 2010, will be open about 10 degrees. Not until 2014 will the rings be fully open at 20.2 degrees inclination. On Dec. 20 at 8 p.m., note Jupiter and a waxing crescent moon in the southwest. In a pair of 7x50 binoculars, you may spot Neptune only half a degree distant from Jupiter, at about the 2 o'clock position.

On the evening of Dec. 13 into the morning of the 14th, the Geminid meteor shower peaks. This shower is fairly reliable, producing up to 100 meteors an hour. The moon will not interfere with viewing this multi-colored display — more than half usually white, a quarter yellow, and the remaining meteors blue, red and green. Only about 25 years ago did NASA discover an object in the same orbit as the Geminid meteoroid stream, a rocky asteroid or extinct comet named 3200 Phaethon. This is most probably the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower. On Dec. 22, the Ursid shower peaks. Only about 10 faint meteors an hour may be seen, and fortunately the moon will not be visible this evening, either. The shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, will be Monday, Dec. 21.

The Ursids meteor activity begins annually around December 17th and runs for a week plus, until the 25th or 26th. This meteor shower is named for its radiant point which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellation Ursa Minor.

Unglaublich!

[Dirttyrabbit Profile]

Up For Nov. 2009? Crab Nebula