Posted on 01/03/2011 3:28:32 PM PST by TaraP
QUADRANTID METEOR ALERT: Earth is about to pass through a narrow stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1, source of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. "Peaking in the wee morning hours of Tuesday, Jan. 4, the Quads have a maximum rate of about 100 per hour (varies between 60 and 200)," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
"What makes this year so special is that the Moon is New on the night of the peak, so there will be no interference from moonlight."
PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: After the meteor shower, observers in Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia can witness a partial eclipse of the sun. In western Europe, as much as 86% of the solar disk will be covered by the Moon at dawn, producing a fantastic crescent sunrise on Jan. 4th. Follow the links for a live webcast, an animated map, and details from NASA.
LIVE WEBCAST-ISRAEL
http://www.bareket-astro.com/live-astronomical-web-cast/live-solar-eclipse-webcast-jan-04-2011.html
Look here, brother. Who you jivin’ with that cosmic debris?
The web-cast starts at : 07.00 - 10.30 UTC January 4th | 09.00 - 12.30 local Israel time.
There is an “eclipse timer” on the live page, indicates the time left for first contact (07.13 UTC).
The live event is free and open to all the interested.
Here’s a better link. The other will only be good for today.
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=03&month=01&year=2011
It could be another fantastical celestial show, if you are up in the wee hours tomorrow morning.
How does 4 Jan. 1:00 a.m. EST translate into “...just before dawn on 4 Jan.???
I’m going to try 10:00-11:00 p.m. MDT, on 3 Jan.!
LOL..yes you are correct.
You aren't going to see much then unless you are at about the same longitude as the Mideast.
Thanks for posting. I will try to catch this.
I just ran Stellarium with the meteor rate cranked 'way up, and it indicates that the Quadrantid radiant should rise above the eastern horizon at just about midnight (your local time).
There should be no problem identifying the radiant point tonight, because it rises just before Saturn -- putting the radiant about between Saturn and Porrima in Virgo. Just look toward Saturn, and you are, basically, facing the Quadrantid radiant point tonight...
Hope this is helpful for those who plan to go out and brave the cold for a bit -- after midnight!
I’m confused about the timezone as it relates to us. It sounds like, if we have clear skies, it would be about 10 or 11PM Pacific tonight. I think. Maybe. :-)
Thanks for the ping!
U R Right!
I didn’t see much, except a clear night sky.
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