Posted on 08/11/2002 11:35:09 AM PDT by blam
Comet's debris promises celestial light-show
Earth is about to plough through a thick cloud of comet dust giving sky watchers a celestial treat.
The Perseid meteor shower, which puts on a display at this time every year, is now approaching its maximum intensity.
It will peak tomorrow, sending shooting stars blazing trails across the sky at a rate which could reach two a minute.
This year's Perseid show should be a good one because there will be virtually no moon, and the meteor numbers are expected to be higher than usual.
The Perseids, which have mystified and terrified people for nearly 2,000 years, are so named because they appear to emerge from the eastern constellation of Perseus.
The meteors are small bits of debris shed by a huge six-mile-wide comet, Swift-Tuttle, that sails into our Solar System from a distant region of space beyond the planet Pluto every 135 years.
When the Perseid particles hit the top of the Earth's atmosphere at 135,000 mph they become glowing hot and appear as bright shooting stars criss-crossing the sky in all directions.
Most meteors produce bright white streaks, but sometimes they can burst like fireballs.
Robin Scagell, of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "The best time to watch will be from about 10pm onwards. The meteors will appear to come from the east, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
"There could also be random meteors as well, not connected with any particular shower, as there are plenty of these on August nights as well. You can be anywhere in the UK, but as always it's best to be away from street lights and in the country. Try to see as much of the sky as possible in order to have the best chance of seeing a shooting star."
Story filed: 14:25 Sunday 11th August 2002
Went out into the middle of Table Rock lake Thursday night and saw at least four in less than one hour.
(Also saw the International Space Station, Venus, and a multitude of bats feeding right over our heads)
FYI Table Rock Lake is on the MO/AR border...
I spent last week camping near Baraboo, Wisconsin, and viewing was excellent out there away from city lights.
Between 11:00 last night and 2:00 this morning, I saw a meteor every two minutes or so.
Still sulking longshadow? You never did get back to me on your ideas on Wave Matter Theory and how it relates to the Golden Ratio, or give me your thoughts on the Fibonocci Sequence deriving from whirling Golden Rectangles..
Piltdown_Woman: Only too happy to oblige!
Are you still thinking of giving me your "Pro Bono Assessment" of, ahem, my "p-r-i-a-p-i-s-m".. :)
Still sulking longshadow? You never did get back to me on your ideas on Wave Matter Theory and how it relates to the Golden Ratio, or give me your thoughts on the Fibonocci Sequence deriving from whirling Golden Rectangles..
Piltdown_Woman: Only too happy to oblige!
Are you still thinking of giving me your "Pro Bono Assessment" of, ahem, my "p-r-i-a-p-i-s-m".. :)
Still beating your wife?
But now you know at least when to look for Uranus.
[Gasp!] What's wrong with you? Have you no shame? In polite society, that orb is always referred to as the Seventh Planet.
What's Uranus got to do with either celestial light shows or priaprism? :)
Now now longshadow, get over it, as I know a few spify comebacks too...
Pardon me, I thought I was posting on FreeRep...I am! What's this place got to do with polite society?
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