Thursday, January 3, 2013
The first meteor shower of 2013 started Tuesday and will peak early Thursday.
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 started overnight Jan. 1, into Jan. 2 and will peak in the early hours of Jan. 4. 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…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Geminid meteor shower, reportedly the most intense meteor shower of the year, is expected to peak around 2 a.m. Dec. 13
Skies should cooperate this week as the Geminid meteor shower peaks Dec. 13. The week of Dec. 10-16 is the window for Geminid-watching, but from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 13 and Friday, Dec. 14 is the time it is expected to peak, according to NASA. Earthsky.org reports the Geminids peak might be around 2 a.m. on Dec. 13 and 14, when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world. Sign up for the Wheaton Patch Newsletter Like our Facebook page "With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for watching the grand finale of the meteor showers," Earthsky reports. "Best viewing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on December 14." The Geminid Meteor Shower is the …
Friday, August 10, 2012
With only partly cloudy skies forecast over Wheaton, we should be able to get a good view of the Perseids meteor shower, which is set to peak this weekend.
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Friday, August 10, 2012
The forecast for Saturday nights is for mostly clear skies with an overnight low temperature of 59 and a 50 percent chance of showers Sunday night, with overnight low temperatures around 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The best place to see the Perseids meteor shower in Wheaton might be: (Do you know of a great location? Share it in the comments section below!) The Perseids are a meteor shower visible when the Earth passes through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. The meteor shower has been visible for about 2,000 years. The Swift-Tuttle comet orbits once every 133 years, according to NASA. “The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere,” …
Monday, June 4, 2012
You'll probably be dead the next time this happens, so watch it on Tuesday evening.
A little after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, residents of our area will have an opportunity to witness one of the rarest predictable celestial events: a transit of Venus. Often referred to as the "Evening Star" or "Morning Star," Venus is the brightest natural object in our sky after the Sun and the Moon. As the second planet from the Sun, it's closer to the Sun than the Earth is. Be sure to receive all the latest headlines by signing up for either the free daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox, or follow Wheaton Patch on Facebook. A "transit" of Venus occurs when Venus passes between us and the Sun in such a way that we can see Venus's silhouette backlit by the Sun's brilliant light. It last happened in 2004, but it won't happen again until …
Abigail Bellamy
7:55 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Thanks for the heads up (literally)! I also found some great info on http://www.spacedex.com/geminids if anyone is interested! more ›