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To: a fool in paradise; SunkenCiv

Clear skies (north GA mountains, 2;00 AM eastern) but the moon is up ... Was outside for a little while, but nothing visible. Lots of nearby lights though.


14 posted on 12/13/2014 11:02:30 PM PST by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but socialists' ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE; brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; ...

The problem with annual showers is, no one can be sure that there will be much of a show. Before radio, the discovery of annual showers was achieved optically, by astronomers. The only media was the newspaper and books, and so going out to watch for meteors was big big fun.

Some of the annual showers were much more impressive, apparently hitting a peak during a few consecutive years, and thereafter apparently dying out.

On any clear night, one will probably notice perhaps four or five per hour, but in my experience, 99 percent of the time (at least) it will be in the peripheral vision, and gone by the time one turns one’s head. I’ve only seen one daylight meteor, and it was amazing stuff, lasting a good ten seconds before dropping below the sightline. Never heard anything further, probably was far off and finished disintegrating, arriving at the surface as grains of, well, sand.

The existence of these streams is verified by radioastronomy, or rather, it has been and can be, because they make a signal as they burn through or largely burn up in the atmosphere.

Thanks Robert A. Cook, PE, extra to APoD.


20 posted on 12/14/2014 5:16:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/ _____________________ Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
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