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What another grand summer day. Below normal temperatures being at 73 degrees at 11:30 AM unbelievable high today of 81. It will change as all of us know or have been told next week. Above normal temperatures in the high 90’s with humidity. ENJOY is all I am going to say.
The Delta Aquarids get their name from the constellation Aquarius, which they appear to emanate from. A weaker shower, the Delta Aquarids typically reach their peak in late July and produce between 10 and 20 meteors per hour around this time. A truly dark sky offers the best chance at seeing the Delta Aquarids, as they tend to not be as bright as some of the other meteor showers.
Meteor Showers Viewing Tips
The most common question is “Where can I see the meteor showers?” The answer is: ANYWHERE in the sky! During a meteor shower, meteors can appear at any location, not just near their radiant. (The radiant is the location in the sky from which the paths of meteors in a meteor shower appear to originate, from our perspective on Earth. For example, the constellation Perseus is the radiant for the Perseids meteor shower; constellation Leo, the Leonids.) As far as viewing location on Earth, several major meteor showers can be seen in both Hemispheres, but others might be better seen in one or the other, depending on how far above or below the horizon the radiant is located. The Ursids, for example, are essentially seen only in the Northern Hemisphere, as the radiant is too far north of the equator for good viewing in the Southern Hemisphere.
When are meteor showers? See the chart above for “date of maximum,” which lists the peak of each meteor shower (when the shooting stars will be most frequent). The time of the year for each shower is determined by when in Earth’s orbit it crosses the stream of meteoroids.
What time can I see the meteor showers? See the chart above for the best viewing time. In nearly all showers, the radiant is highest just before dawn, but any time beween midnight and dawn gives you a view of most meteors head-on, for a more frequent display. Starting around midnight, your location on the globe spins around to the forward-facing half of Earth (in relation to the direction of orbit). At dawn, your location on the globe directly faces the direction in which Earth is traveling along its orbit.
Note: the Geminid meteor shower is visible all night long, since Gemini appears just an hour or two after nightfall; the radiant is highest a little after midnight.
Where to look? The best place to start is between the radiant and the zenith (straight above you in the sky). (Once again, the radiant is where the meteors appear to start from.) See the “point of origin” above.
How to look? You don’t need any special equipment. In fact, binoculars do not work well for meteor showers. The naked eye is your best tool!
Dark Skies, Clear Skies Needed!
The sky needs to be dark, away from all the city lights. Try to get to a viewing site as far as possible from bright lights. This may require planning—for a country drive or a campout.
Bright moonlight, within a few days of a full Moon will reduce the number of meteors that you will see. Check our Full Moon Chart.
Obviously, the weather needs to cooperate so that the skies are clear.
Look for a location with a wide-open view of the sky, free from obstructions like tall trees or buildings.
Spend about 20 minutes outside for your eyes to fully adjust to the darkness of the night sky.
Spead a blanket on the ground and get cozy!
"Shooting star" is simply a colloquial expression for a meteor. Some meteors are quite bright (for example some Taurids can even cast shadows and leave bright trails). Some look like "flashbulbs" going off in the sky. Some are faint. Some move very fast; others are slow. All these are meteors! Most mind-bending of all, the light we see is the air being ionized around a very fast-moving particle (typically the size of a grain of sand). The molecules of the air are stripped of electrons which releases a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light. Believe it or not, it's this light, not the actual "material" of dust or pebble moving through the sky that we witness as a meteor. Only rarely is a particle large enough to make it all the way to earth.
This year, expect no interference from the Moon at all, as it will be in its new phase during the peak viewing hours of the Delta Aquarids. Keep an eye out for them between midnight and dawn on July 29 and 30.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/content/meteor-shower-calendar
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net 641-794-3337 cell 641-903-9365
The Delta Aquarids get their name from the constellation Aquarius, which they appear to emanate from. A weaker shower, the Delta Aquarids typically reach their peak in late July and produce between 10 and 20 meteors per hour around this time. A truly dark sky offers the best chance at seeing the Delta Aquarids, as they tend to not be as bright as some of the other meteor showers.
Meteor Showers Viewing Tips
The most common question is “Where can I see the meteor showers?” The answer is: ANYWHERE in the sky! During a meteor shower, meteors can appear at any location, not just near their radiant. (The radiant is the location in the sky from which the paths of meteors in a meteor shower appear to originate, from our perspective on Earth. For example, the constellation Perseus is the radiant for the Perseids meteor shower; constellation Leo, the Leonids.) As far as viewing location on Earth, several major meteor showers can be seen in both Hemispheres, but others might be better seen in one or the other, depending on how far above or below the horizon the radiant is located. The Ursids, for example, are essentially seen only in the Northern Hemisphere, as the radiant is too far north of the equator for good viewing in the Southern Hemisphere.
When are meteor showers? See the chart above for “date of maximum,” which lists the peak of each meteor shower (when the shooting stars will be most frequent). The time of the year for each shower is determined by when in Earth’s orbit it crosses the stream of meteoroids.
What time can I see the meteor showers? See the chart above for the best viewing time. In nearly all showers, the radiant is highest just before dawn, but any time beween midnight and dawn gives you a view of most meteors head-on, for a more frequent display. Starting around midnight, your location on the globe spins around to the forward-facing half of Earth (in relation to the direction of orbit). At dawn, your location on the globe directly faces the direction in which Earth is traveling along its orbit.
Note: the Geminid meteor shower is visible all night long, since Gemini appears just an hour or two after nightfall; the radiant is highest a little after midnight.
Where to look? The best place to start is between the radiant and the zenith (straight above you in the sky). (Once again, the radiant is where the meteors appear to start from.) See the “point of origin” above.
How to look? You don’t need any special equipment. In fact, binoculars do not work well for meteor showers. The naked eye is your best tool!
Dark Skies, Clear Skies Needed!
The sky needs to be dark, away from all the city lights. Try to get to a viewing site as far as possible from bright lights. This may require planning—for a country drive or a campout.
Bright moonlight, within a few days of a full Moon will reduce the number of meteors that you will see. Check our Full Moon Chart.
Obviously, the weather needs to cooperate so that the skies are clear.
Look for a location with a wide-open view of the sky, free from obstructions like tall trees or buildings.
Spend about 20 minutes outside for your eyes to fully adjust to the darkness of the night sky.
Spead a blanket on the ground and get cozy!
"Shooting star" is simply a colloquial expression for a meteor. Some meteors are quite bright (for example some Taurids can even cast shadows and leave bright trails). Some look like "flashbulbs" going off in the sky. Some are faint. Some move very fast; others are slow. All these are meteors! Most mind-bending of all, the light we see is the air being ionized around a very fast-moving particle (typically the size of a grain of sand). The molecules of the air are stripped of electrons which releases a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light. Believe it or not, it's this light, not the actual "material" of dust or pebble moving through the sky that we witness as a meteor. Only rarely is a particle large enough to make it all the way to earth.
This year, expect no interference from the Moon at all, as it will be in its new phase during the peak viewing hours of the Delta Aquarids. Keep an eye out for them between midnight and dawn on July 29 and 30.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/content/meteor-shower-calendar
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net 641-794-3337 cell 641-903-9365
