Tammy Plotner, Author at Universe Today

April 2, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Planet Finder Catches a Comet!

Who can forget last October, when astronomers all over the world were astounded by the huge outburst of Comet Holmes? The eruption was the largest for more than a century. (Click on image to animate.) Fortunately for the world, a UK telescope was in the right place and the right time to capture the first images of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

The SuperWASP-North facility on the island of La Palma was built by UK scientists to discover planets around other stars. The 8 cameras that make up the system operate robotically, automatically scanning large areas of the sky each night. By coincidence, at 2339 GMT on the evening of 24 October 2007, it was pointing towards Comet 17P Holmes.

“By the time SuperWASP spotted the comet, it had already brightened by a factor of 1000” explains Dr. Henry Hsieh. “But this was still almost 3 hours before anyone else noticed it.” (The lucky astronomer and the honor belongs to amateur astronomer Juan Antonio Henriquez Santana who saw the eruption from Tenerife. Score a point for those of us who scan the skies!). Over the next 2 hours the comet continued brightening, until SuperWASP could no longer accurately measure it – it was too bright for the cameras.

Orbiting the Sun, comets are mainly composed of frozen gases and microscopic solid particles in a small solid nucleus. As they pass by our solar system’s nearest star, they heat up, releasing gas pockets and other frozen materials. Most of us understand outgassing and the properties of cometary tails, but during this outburst, Comet Holmes released a large amount of its material all at once.

Two days after the eruption began, sunlight reflecting from the ejected material had made the comet one million times brighter than it was originally making it easily visible to observers across the northern hemisphere. Dr. Hsieh comments:

“Over the next few weeks, SuperWASP continued to observe Comet Holmes as the cloud of dust and gas surrounding the 3-km diameter nucleus of the comet steadily expanded. By 31st October, the cloud was already 900,000 km across or more than twice the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Using our SuperWASP observations, we measured the speed of expansion of the outer edge of this cloud to be over 1500 km per hour and by 17 November measured the size of the cloud to be more than 2 million km across – much larger than the Sun.”

Two weeks after the outburst, SuperWASP scored again – the faint and delicate tail of Comet Holmes composed of the gas released from the nucleus. As astronomers watched over the next few weeks, this tail gradually faded and moved away from the comet. Although many images were gathered by astronomers around the world, the precise cause of the outburst is still a mystery. All they know right now is that it happened once before – in 1892 – and may well happen again. Keep watching!

April 2, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Meteor Shower… On Mars!

What’s that? Another meteor shower we can’t possibly see? Of course you can. All you need to view this meteor shower is a backyard on Mars! A team of scientists led by Armagh Observatory have, for the first time, detected a storm of shooting stars on Red Planet.

What happens when the orbit of Mars intersects with debris from comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley? Scientists were hard at work making predictions. The detections were then cross-referenced with observations of activity in the Martian ionosphere by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) satellite. Says Dr. Apostolos Christou:

“Just as we can predict meteor outbursts at Earth, such as the Leonids, we can also predict when meteor showers are going to occur at Mars and Venus. We believe that shooting stars should appear at Venus and Mars with a similar brightness to those we see at Earth. However, as we are not in a position to watch them in the Martian sky directly, we have to sift through satellite data to look for evidence of particles burning up in the upper atmosphere.”

We’re all familiar with the cause of most meteor showers. They happen when a planet (and not always ours!) passes through the debris trail left by a comet as it moves along its orbital path. The material lets us glimpse into the age, size and composition of particles ejected from the comet’s nucleus, the speed at which it was thrown off, as well as general information about the structure and history of the comet itself. Oh, to be a comet watcher on Mars! About four times as many comets approach the orbit of Mars than the Earth’s and the greatest majority of these are Jupiter Family Comets.

Studying Martian meteor showers can definitely improve our understanding of meteor showers and the Jupiter Family Comets as well. JFC are short period comets with an orbital period of less than 20 years. Their orbits are controlled by Jupiter and many are believed to originate from the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt, a vast population of small icy bodies that orbit just beyond Neptune. Famous JFCs include Comet 81P/Wild 2, which was encountered by the Stardust spacecraft in January 2004 and Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which broke up and collided with Jupiter in July 1994.

When meteor particles burn up in a planet’s atmosphere, metals contained within them are ionised to form a layer of plasma. On Earth, this layer has an altitude of approximately 95-100 kilometres and on Mars the layer is predicted to be around 80-95 kilometres above the Martian surface. Meteor showers leave a narrow layer of plasma superimposed on top of the main plasma layer, caused by meteors that are general debris from the Solar System. Dr. Christou and his colleagues developed a model to predict meteor showers caused by the intersection of Mars with dust trails from comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley. From the model, the team identified six predicted meteor showers since the MGS satellite entered into orbit around Mars in 1997. Although the metallic ions cannot be observed directly by MGS instruments, evidence for the plasma layer can be inferred by monitoring electron density in the Martian atmosphere using the spacecraft’s radio communication system.

Just like earthly meteor showers, we can predict all we want – but sometimes we draw a blank. In this instance only one of the six predictions came true. In the April 2003 data, the team found that an ionospheric disturbance appeared at the exact time of the predicted meteor outburst. The height of the disturbance corresponded with the predicted altitude for the formation of the metallic ion layer and its width and multi-peaked shape were similar to structures observed in the Earth’s ionosphere linked to the Perseid meteor shower.

For the 2005 data, no features were observed near or immediately after the predicted meteor shower. Dr Christou says, “We speculate that we don’t see anything in the 2005 data because the meteors burned up deeper in the atmosphere where their ionisation is less efficient. If we are going to get a clear picture of what is going on, we need more optical and ionospheric observations of meteor showers at both the Earth and Mars so we can establish a definitive link between cause and effect. Equally importantly, we need further observations of Martian meteor showers, either from orbit or from the planet’s surface, to confirm our predictions. Finally, we need to improve our prediction model by tracking more comets that might cause meteor showers on Mars.”

Dr Christou is now investigating the possibilities of making observations with Europe’s ExoMars mission, which is due to land on Mars in 2015.

April 2, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Venus’ Variable Evolution

For every backyard astronomer, we know 4.5 billion years ago, both Venus and Earth were formed with nearly the same radius, mass, density and chemical composition. Venus is like Earth’s evil twin, but why is the climate on both worlds so widely varied? Scientists analysing the data from the orbiting European Venus Express spacecraft are finally putting the pieces of the geological and climatological puzzle together as they take a closer look at Venusian evolution.

Today, Professor Fred Taylor of Oxford University presented the scenario in a talk at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast. According to the studies, Venus appeared to have evolved very rapidly compared to the Earth during the early formation of the solar system. Thanks to data obtained from the Venus Express, it would appear our wicked sister planet once had significant volume of water covering the surface… Oceans which were lost in a very short geological timescale. As the water disappeared, the geological evolution of the surface of Venus slowed quickly – unable to develop plate tectonics like the Earth. Biological evolution could never happen. If, at one time, Venus mirrored Earth in climate and habitability terms, then it evolved too quickly at first, then too slowly.

‘They may have started out looking very much the same,’ said Professor Taylor, ‘but increasingly we have evidence that Venus lost most of its water and Earth lost most of its atmospheric carbon dioxide.’

Here on Earth, carbon dioxide is captive plant life, minerals and the crust itself. Not to harp on global warming, but the release CO2 back into the atmosphere is a source of climatic change. On Venus, the majority of the carbon dioxide resides it its atmosphere, leaving the surface temperature at a searing 450 degrees Celsius. This slows or stops geological as well as biological evolution.

‘The interesting thing is that the physics is the same in both cases’ said Prof Taylor. ‘The great achievement of Venus Express is that it is putting the climatic behaviour of both planets into a common framework of understanding.’

But, we haven’t heard the last from Venus Express just yet. Due to operate until May 2009, scientists involved in the project are already busy applying for an extension until 2011.

‘We have plans for joint operations with the Japanese spacecraft called Venus Climate Orbiter that will arrive in December 2010’, said Taylor. ‘Together, we can do things neither could do alone to crack some of the remaining puzzles about Venus.’

April 2, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

The Sun’s Magnetic Fountains

For you solar observing fans, enjoy the beauty. Over the years both the public and astronomers alike have witnessed the Sun’s volatile and ever-changing atmosphere. Before our eyes huge geysers of hot gas spew into the solar corona at tens of thousands of km per hour. Every few minutes they erupt and reach dynamic proportions. Now a team of scientists have used the Hinode spacecraft to find the origin and progenitor of these fountains – immense magnetic structures that thread through the solar atmosphere.

Today at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast (NAM 2008), team leader Dr. Michelle Murray from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL, University College London) presented the latest results from Hinode spacecraft combined with computer emulated solar conditions. Since its launch in October 2006, scientists have been using Hinode to examine the solar atmosphere in extraordinary detail. One of it’s premier instruments is the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer. The EIS generates images of the Sun and gives information on the speed of the moving gases.

At the core of the solar magnetic field, immense jets of hot gas are forced to the surface through increases in pressure. Just like an earthly geyser, when the pressure releases the gases fall back towards the Sun’s surface. But what causes the pressure? Unlike the volcanic activity that drives the terrestrial phenomena, solar fountains are caused by rearrangements of the Sun’s magnetic field, a continual process that results in looping cycles of increasing and decreasing pressure.

“EIS has observed the Sun’s fountains in unprecedented detail and it has enabled us to narrow down the fountains’ origins for the first time”, comments team member and MSSL postgraduate student Deb Baker. “We have also been able to find what drives the fountains by using computer experiments to replicate solar conditions.”

The sun-observing Hinode satellite is now in a sun-synchronous orbit, which allows it to observe the sun for uninterrupted periods lasting months at a time. Using a combination of optical, EUV and X-ray instrumentation Hinode will study the interaction between the Sun’s magnetic field and its corona to increase our understanding of the causes of solar variability.

“The computer experiments demonstrate that when a new section of magnetic field pushes through the solar surface it generates a continual cycle of fountains”, explains Dr. Murray, “but new magnetic fields are constantly emerging across the whole of the solar surface and so our results can explain a whole multitude of fountains that have been observed with Hinode.”

April 1, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Solar Corona Revealed by Medical X-Ray Techniques

For several decades solar scientists have been hard at work trying to unravel the mysteries of the solar corona. Thanks to a medical x-ray technique known as tomography, scientists are able resolve solar activity in greater detail. By using a new way of processing images, active regions now take on dimensions never foreseen by computer models.

Today Dr. Huw Morgan presented his results to the Royal Astronomical Society National Meeting in Belfast. Using an adapted medical X-ray technique, scientists have produced the first detailed map of the structure of the Sun’s outermost layer, the corona. The application known as tomography uses a series of images taken from many different angles to reconstruct a 3-dimensional map created from direct solar observations.

“This is a breakthrough for scientists trying to understand the corona and the solar wind. We’ve been attempting to apply tomography to the solar corona for more than 30 years but it’s proved very difficult and very inaccurate until now. The new technique that I’ve developed is only in its infancy but shows great potential for areas of research like space weather,” said Dr Morgan, of the University of Aberystwyth.

The process has not been as easy one, nor is it a new idea. Without images of the coronal far side, researchers were left with only half the data. The near side produces its own difficulties as well, since the outermost areas of the corona are more than a thousand times fainter than the regions near the Sun. This factor introduces huge potential errors to observations. Thanks to Dr. Morgan, his new way of processing coronal images, called Qualitative Solar Rotational Tomography (QSRT), eliminates the steep drop in brightness and associated errors. With the help of SOHO’s LASCO instrument, Dr. Morgan applied the technique to a series of images taken as the Sun’s rotation brings the ‘missing’ areas into view. The result? Full coronal maps that are at least 5 times more detailed than previous tomographical studies of the Sun. And the future may hold far more. Says Morgan:

“I’ve now produced maps of the corona over almost a whole cycle of solar activity, so we can now see in unprecedented detail how structures develop and evolve in three-dimensions. The maps have produced some interesting results: for instance we’ve observed large areas of dense structures when the Sun is most active that are not predicted by current computer models. We’ve also found evidence that inner regions of the corona rotate at different speeds.”

According to the RAS press release, the technique is already being used by scientists at the Institute of Maths and Physics at Aberystwyth University to interpret their radio-wave observations of the solar wind. Dr. Morgan, together with colleagues at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, is also using the maps to interpret ultraviolet observations of the corona. Says Dr. Morgan:

“These maps will also prove useful in the important field of space weather. Explosions at the Sun travel through space and often hit the Earth. These energetic magnetic clouds can disrupt communication, power supplies and be a major health hazard for astronauts and airline pilots. Understanding and predicting these storms is a major goal of solar science. The ability to map the whole 3D structure of the corona is a critical step towards achieving this goal.”

April 1, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Old Galaxies Stick Together In A Young Universe

Can appearances be deceiving? According to the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT), galaxies that appear old in our Universe’s early history are positioned in huge clouds of dark matter. Using the most sensitive images ever taken, UKIRT scientists believe these galaxies will evolve into the most massive yet known.

Today University of Nottingham PhD student Will Hartley is speaking to the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast. As the leader of the study, Hartley proposes the distant galaxies identified in the UKIRT images are considered elderly from their content of old, red stars. Because these systems are nearly 10 billion light years distant, the images are as the galaxies appeared about 4 billion years after the Big Bang. Fully evolved galaxies at that point in time are hard to explain and the answer has been puzzling astronomers who study galactic formation and evolution.

Hartley and his team used the deep UKIRT images to estimate the mass of the dark matter formed in a halo surrounding the old galaxies – a halo which collapses under its own gravity to form a even distribution of matter. By measuring their ability to form galactic clusters, astronomers can get a better sense of what causes older galaxies to stick together.

Hartley explains “Luckily, even if we don’t know what dark matter is, we can understand how gravity will affect it and make it clump together. We can see that the old, red galaxies clump together far more strongly than the young, blue galaxies, so we know that their invisible dark matter halos must be more massive.

The halos of dark matter surrounding the old galaxies in the early Universe are found to be extremely massive, containing material which is one hundred thousand billion times the mass of our Sun. In the nearby Universe, halos of this size are known to contain giant elliptical galaxies, the largest galaxies known.

“This provides a direct link to the present day Universe,” says Hartley, “and tell us that these distant old galaxies must evolve into the most massive but more familiar elliptical-shaped galaxies we see around us today. Understanding how these enormous elliptical galaxies formed is one of the biggest open questions in modern astronomy and this is an important step in comprehending their history.”

March 28, 2008December 26, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Darkness Washes Around The Globe As Earth Hour Descends

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35 countries, 26 major cities, 370 towns and literally tens of millions of people… What do they all have in common?

They’re all switching off their lights for one hour at 8:00 pm local time in a now staggering global event known as Earth Hour. From around the world, Universe Today readers made a huge impact.

For all of you who took the time to sign up for Earth Hour, I not only thank you for your participation, but have deeply enjoyed watching our effort expand over the last week. We literally melted down the server on our personal UT Earth Hour site with our responses! What a tremendous effort on all our parts.

In a matter of hours, and quite probably by the time you read this, the lights will begin to go down as Earth Hour descends. As darkness falls in Australia, city landmarks from Parliament House in Canberra to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Melbourne’s Federation Square and the WACA ground in Perth will power down for an hour. Landmarks, cities and communities around the world will go dark – one by one – as Earth Hour reaches each time zone.

Says Earth Hour’s executive director Andy Ridley:

“Earth Hour is about everyone and every organisation, from individuals to global companies, joining together to own a shared problem – climate change. Governments and businesses are joining individuals, religious groups, schools and communities in this terrific movement that’s all about making a change for the better. It’s staggering to see so much support from across the globe.”

Can you picture yourself high above the Earth as city after city and home after home turn off the lights not long after the terminator of night has passed? As darkness washes around the globe, our voices will be heard – as well as seen – for anyone who cares to look.

If you won’t participate in Earth Hour simply because you don’t think it will make a change, then do so for astronomers who are celebrating the beginning of National Dark-Sky Week. How will it reduce light pollution, given that it only lasts a week and not everyone will participate? The main goal of NDSW is to raise awareness about the harmful effects of light pollution. It just isn’t possible for all of the light pollution in the world to disappear, but together we can. make difference, just like Earth Hour, and inspire us all to preserve the beauty of the night sky.

One thing is for certain, Earth Hour is huge news. And all of us here at Universe Today can be very proud that we are part of it.

March 27, 2008December 26, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

What’s Up – The Weekend SkyWatcher’s Forecast

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! What does the weekend have in store for those who observe the starry vistas with their eyes, binoculars, or telescopes? Let’s head out into the night, because the mysteries of the Cosmos await.

Friday, March 28 – For unaided eye observers, the astronomy day starts just before dawn where your challenge is to spot Venus just ahead of the rising Sun. If the horizon is very clear, you might also spot nearby Mercury as well. Now give it a go with binoculars, because there’s more! On this date in 1802, Heinrich W. Olbers discovered the second asteroid, Pallas, while making observations of the position of Ceres. Five years later on this same date in 1807, Vesta – the brightest asteroid and fourth discovered – was identified by Olbers.

Your binocular or small telescope assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to locate Vesta. You’ll find it just a bit south of the union of Uranus, Venus and Mercury about 30 minutes before local dawn. Pallas is too close to the Sun right now for safe viewing. While asteroid chasing is not for everyone, both Vesta and Pallas are often bright enough to be identified with just binoculars. In the coming months, each will rise higher each morning in the predawn sky. Use an online resource to get accurate locator charts and keep a record of spotting these solar system planetoids!

For mid-to-large aperture telescopes, this was indeed a date of discovery as the prolific Sir William found yet another object for future generations to marvel at. Your destination tonight is around a degree east of Alpha Lyncis, and is in the field with a 7th magnitude star in Leo Minor (RA 09 24 18 Dec +34 30 48). It’s name is NGC 2859.

Located about 23 million light-years away, this handsome barred spiral was cataloged on this night in 1786 as H I.137. At around magnitude 11, it’s within reach of average telescopes and the observer will first note its bright core region. But don’t stop there: while there’s nothing unusual about barred structure, this galaxy appears to have a detached halo around it. Often known as the “Ring Galaxy,” this structure could perhaps be caused by gravitational forces reacting with gases along certain points in the bar structure, and so creating a resonance. Oddly enough, each of the four companion galaxies of NGC 2859 contains a compact object or quasar-like phenomenon, and they all have similar redshifts. Be sure to add this “space oddity” to your observing notes!

Saturday, March 29 – Don’t forget to turn off the lights at 8:00 pm to celebrate Earth Hour! For unaided observers, take advantage of the early evening dark skies to enjoy the incredible red triangle of Aldebaran, Betelguese and Mars.

For binoculars and small telescopes, on our list tonight is a Herschel object which lies directly on the galactic equator around five degrees north-northwest of Xi Puppis (RA 07 36 12 Dec -20 37 00). NGC 2421 is a magnitude 8.3 open cluster which will look like an exquisitely tiny “Brocchi’s Cluster” in binoculars; and it will begin to show good resolution of its 50 or so members to an intermediate telescope, in an arrowhead-shaped pattern. It’s bright, it’s fairly easy to find, and it’s a great open cluster to add to your challenge study lists. For the southern observer, try your hand at Sigma Puppis. At magnitude 3, this bright orange star holds a wide separation from its white 8.5 magnitude companion. Sigma’s B star is a curiosity… While it resides at a distance of 180 light-years from our solar system, it would be about the same brightness as our own Sun if placed one Astronomical Unit from Earth!

So what’s special on the agenda for telescopes tonight? Just a discovery – and an extraordinarily beautiful one at that. Two nights ago in 1781, the unsung astronomy hero Pierre MÃ©chain happened on an incredible galaxy in Ursa Major. Located about three fingerwidths northeast of Mizar and Alcor (RA 14 03 13 Dec +54 20 53), this near 8th magnitude galaxy was added as one of the last on the Messier list, but it ranks as one of the first to be identified as a spiral. While M101 is huge and bright, binoculars will only spot the bright central region – yet the average beginner’s scope (114mm) will begin to reveal arm structure with aversion. As aperture increases, so does detail, and some areas are so bright that Herschel assigned them their own catalog numbers. Even Halton Arp noted this one’s lopsided core as number 26 (“Spiral with One Heavy Arm”) on his peculiar galaxies list.

At a distance of 27 million light-years, M101 might be somewhat disappointing to smaller scopes, but photographs show it as one of the most fantastic spirals in the Cosmos. Dubbed the “Pinwheel,” it heads up its own galactic group consisting of NGC 5474 to the south-southeast and NGC 5585 to the northeast, which are visible to larger scopes. It is estimated there may be as many as six more members as well! Be sure to take the time to really study this galaxy. The act of sketching often brings out hidden details and will enrich your observing experience.

Sunday, March 30 – If you’re out late or up before sunrise, be sure to take a look at the Moon and Jupiter making a pleasing pairing along the ecliptic. No special equipment is needed!

Take your telescopes or binoculars out tonight and look just north of Xi Puppis (RA 07 44 36 Dec -23 52 00) for a “mass concentration” of starlight known as M93. Discovered in March of 1781 by Charles Messier, this bright open cluster is a rich concentration of various magnitudes which will simply explode in sprays of stellar fireworks in the eyepiece of a large telescope. Spanning 18 to 22 light-years of space and residing more than 3400 light-years away, it contains not only blue giants, but lovely golds as well. Jewels in the dark skyâ€¦

As you view this cluster tonight, seize the moment to remember Messier, because this is one of the last objects he discovered personally. He described it as “A cluster of small stars without nebulosity” – but did he realize the light he was viewing at the time left the cluster during the reign of Ramses III? Ah, yes…sweet time. Did Charles have a clue this cluster of stars was 100 million years old? Or realize it was forming about the time Earth’s land masses were breaking up, dinosaurs ruled, and the first mammals and birds were evolving? Although H. G. Wells “Time Machine” is a work of fiction, each time we view through a telescope we take a journey back across time itself. Enjoy the mystery!

March 22, 2008April 26, 2016 by Tammy Plotner

Countdown to Earth Hour 2008…

Do you remember last year when Sydney, Australia made the news by turning their lights out for one hour to show their concern about global warming? Besides being concerned about the effects, especially for my children and grandchildren, as an astronomer I support anything which helps reduce light pollution, even if it’s just for an hour. Beyond extinguishing the lights for 60 minutes at 8pm March 29, 2008, there are lots of things you can do to make Earth Hour 2008 an even greater success. Let’s take a look.

2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – March 29, 2008. According to their information, the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year. This year many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, and they’re are turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Start showing your support by visiting our own Universe Today Earth Hour page and signing up on the UT page. You’ll see your name appear as an Earth Hour / Universe Today participant! Tell a friend. Better still, tell all your friends, and your family, and your workmates. Just email them with a link to this website. We may or may not make an impact, but it won’t be because we didn’t try. You can also organize your own Earth Hour activities as well and you’ll find packets and information on how to involve your community at the Earth Hour Website.

If you think this is going to be big, then you’re right. Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming. This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in the world’s major capitol cities like Aalborg, Aarhus, Adelaide, Atlanta, Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Chicago, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Dublin, Manila, Melbourne, Montreal, Odense, Ottawa, Perth, Phoenix, San Francisco, Suva and Lautoka, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Vancouver will be participating as well.

At last count, over 172,000 individuals and nearly 12,000 businesses/organizations have agreed to support Earth Hour. Just who in the astronomy world would do that? In the United States alone you’ll find such great organizations Adler Planetarium, Arizona Science Center, Oceanside Photo and Telescope, StarPals, and The Chicago Astronomer just to name a few. You’d be amazed at the number of schools, universities, restaurants, motels, airlines and others that will be participating.

March 21, 2008December 26, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Camelopardalid and March Geminid Meteor Showers Peak on March 22

Thereâ€™s another two odd meteor showers about to happen. Itâ€™s just after Full Moon. Why bother to take a look at the night sky when chances are poor of seeing a meteor? The reason is clear and the cause is confirmation.

On Saturday, March 22, two meteor showers will grace the moonlit evening sky. We’ll start first with the Camelopardalids. These have no definite peak, and a screaming fall rate of only one per hour. They do have one claim to fame however – these are the slowest meteors known – arriving at a speed of only 7 kilometers per second. Any bright streaks you might see belonging to the Camelopardalids will appear to emanate from the north.

Far more interesting will be to watch for the peak of the March Geminids. These were first discovered and recorded in 1973, then confirmed in 1975. With a much improved fall rate of about 40 per hour, these slightly faster meteors will greatly increase your chance of spotting a shooting star. Like the Camelopardalids, the March Geminds are slower than average and will seem to emanate from directly overhead at skydark. But don’t forget to start early before the Moon rises. The moonlight alone will reduce the number of meteors you see by a factor of about 10. The lunar influence causes fewer disturbances if it’s only a few degrees above the horizon, so you have a brief window of opportunity to study this particular stream.

You can make an important contribution by observing when possible. Since the shower wasn’t reported until 1973 and confirmed by a high rate of activity 2 years later, scientists aren’t really sure if the Earth had passed through that particular particle stream until that time. By observing and reporting, even to sources like Universe Today, you are providing an invaluable internet record to help determine if the stream is genuine. It the March Geminids truly are a viable annual shower, this trail might lead to an undiscovered comet.

If you wish to report your findings elsewhere, please visit the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) and locate the meteor observing tab. In these pages you will also find links to information from the North American Meteor Network (NAMN), and other things to assist you like charts to understand the meteor’s magnitude, the limiting magnitude of your location, and details for recording what you see and how to fill out an observation report. While it’s certainly true you may see absolutely nothing during an hour of observing at skydark, negative observations are also important. This helps to establish if the March Geminids should be considered an annual shower or not. You may also just happen to step outside at the right time and see a flurry of activity as well. Just remember…

When opportunity knocks, you’ve got to be there to open the door!