Posted on 10/10/2021 10:27:07 AM PDT by American Number 181269513
It’s almost time to look up, because the Orionids are coming to the Northern Hemisphere from October 16-24.
You’ll be able to see the shooting stars without the need for a telescope or binoculars. But to see them at their very best, you’ll want to wake up early: from 4:00-5:00 A.M Daylight Savings Time, according to Farmer’s Almanac, you should be able to see anything from 10 to over 30 meteors each hour.
What is it, precisely, that you’re watching in the night sky? That’d be trails of cosmic dust from Halley’s Comet sparking up against Earth’s atmosphere at speeds fasters than forty miles per second.
And the hours before dawn are when, “Earth encounters the densest part of Halley’s debris stream,” NASA explains.
Peaking on the 21st, the meteor shower will appear to radiate from the Orion constellation in the southwestern sky.
Near the Orionids’ peak, there’ll be a Full Hunter’s Moon brightening the night up a little too much for eager meteor watchers.
Nevertheless, if you have a Dark Sky Preserve near you, or just have a favorite dark patch in the city—get the blankets and flasks of hot tea ready, and check out one of the astronomy highlights of the year.
Go outside.
At night.
Look up.
I took an Astronomy course in college.
Getting to Halley’s Comet would be the hard part.
Hope it doesn’t crash into our economy.
—
It will, if there is a big one hidden in all that debris
They thought that I couldn’t get into Uncle Art’s Comet, but I did.
Put er in neutral and down the driveway we went into the garage.
And out the back of the garage.
Four years old and already had an insurance claim against me.
I’m something of a legend in the insurance industry.
ping
Classical authors referred to the belief of the Chaldeans that comets move on orbits and return at periodic intervals. However, it is Edmund Halley who is credited with the discovery of the periodic return of comets.Precursors | Immanuel Velikovsky
Chaotic orbit of Comet Halley explained
NETHERLANDS RESEARCH SCHOOL FOR ASTRONOMY (NOVA) PRESS RELEASE
1 July 2016 Astronomy Now
https://astronomynow.com/2016/07/01/chaotic-orbit-of-comet-halley-explained/
Orbital integration of 8 planets and the comet Halley
June 28, 2016
Simon Portegies Zwart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G6vnq1TcRk
I like to make my own fun. Borrowing from old reading:
Age of Solar System? 4.5 billion years
Halley’s Comet orbit? 75-76 years
4571000000/76=60,144,736.8421
Halley’s Comet had more than 60 million trips close to the Sun? Would have started out planet-sized.
Where I live has so many trees it’s hard to see that part of the sky.
Thx BL, I must have been working on the reply.
I did see it in ‘86, but boy, was it a disappointment.
I gave it a try, but where I live it was close to the horizon before dawn (if memory serves) and really only meaningfully visible using a telescope. There were long lines for those telescopes in the cold cold pre-morning, so I went home.
DON’T DO IT!
You will go blind and Triffids will take over the earth!
Do you really want your new alien overlords to be man eating flowers?
I saw it later in the year, higher in the sky. I do remember our astronomy club doing a special Public Nite at our observatory. Park District officials estimated that we had ~5000 people there that night.
Years later we had Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp, in 1996 and 1997, respectfully, with similar turnouts. Fun times, for sure!
We had one last year that was quite bright, but not up to the previous two comets’ illumination. I can’t remember its name now, but I think one of the space probes spotted it.
I though Hailey wasn’t due for another 30-35 years?
bfl
I remember Hyakutake, it was huge, and looked like it was spray-painted over the stars, basically fixed, pretty cool. The only other one I saw that was that good was probably Ikeya-Seki, I was a kid, and our dad got the kids up to view it late at night/early in the morning in the eastern sky. I don't recall Comet West at all, sez here it wasn't hyped due to the fizzle of 1973's Kohoutek.
I remember Ikeya-Seki, too. I saw it outside our living room window very early one morning. It was beautiful, I an still remember it’s shape. The space program and that comet really influenced my interests. Also Sky and Telescope magazine.🔭🙂
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