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T O P I C R E V I E WPhilipThis weekend one of the last meteor showers of the International Year of Astronomy 2009: Earth passes through extinct comet Phaeton's tail during the night of Sunday 13th to Monday 14th of December!Lowell Observatory: Geminid Meteor Shower peaks December 13/14The Geminid shower was first observed in 1862, and a century long search to identify the parent comet was not successful. Then, in 1983, a NASA satellite discovered an asteroid whose orbit matched that of the Geminid stream. This asteroid, named Phaethon, is thought to be an extinct comet that sheds dust grains from its crust as it approaches the sun.capoetcThanks for the heads up! I'll be outside looking up.------------------John CapobiancoCamden DEStarDomeNo doubt be cloudy here tegwilymIt WILL be cloudy here in Seattle.BlackarrowIsn't it always?David BryantAveraging one per minute here in East Norfolk: some very bright, including a bolide at 12,25 that passed very close to Mars.Definitely the best 'display' since the Perseids in 2007: fingers crossed for Sunday night!David BryantNot so good tonight: perhaps around 10 an hour between 10.30 and 00.30. Two nice bright meteors leaving lingering trails, though.Lou ChinalI just wanted to report that NYC was pretty good. It rained early in the day but by night fall the skies were clear. I first stuck my head out the door around 10:20 p.m. EST, and saw some meteors. It's now 4:20 a.m. and still going strong.hlbjrMy wife and I laid on the beach last night about 10:30 - 11:30 p.m. and saw many meteors. It was great and each time one flashed across the sky, there were gasps of appreciation. It's strange to see the meteors heading in so many different directions too.Harvey BrownDelray Beach, FLicarkie quote:Originally posted by StarDome:No doubt be cloudy here You must be psychic Andy... it was cloudy here in the Midlands. IanStarDomeSomething like that or psychopathic I am hoping that those people who did any obervations actually recorded them and sent them of the the Various Meteor sections of the astronomical bodies in the countries in which they live such as the BAA in the UK. Dr John Mason at the BAA is a great guy, we spent some time together when he was involved in the Space-Files series and down at Patrick Moores house.I'm just off up to the Lake District to run our annual Astronomy Masterclass event. Always a good event.gliderpilotukSome good sightings on Sunday night here in Central London. About one every ten minutes at 9pm, despite the light pollution.StarDomeGliderpilot... fantastic stuff. I once did a radio broadcast for BBC Radio London in the evening from the roof of their building down past Baker St. The naked eye limiting magnitude was about 3 then, so for you to see so many this year in the capital is great news. Shows how bright they were this year!David BryantMmmmmm! Well we had totally clear skies at midnight for both Saturday and Sunday night here in East Norfolk: we could see 4th mag stars like theta and lamda geminorum and most of the geminids we saw were between mag 2 and 4. They also were generally quite 'short': around 10 - 20 degrees.
Lowell Observatory: Geminid Meteor Shower peaks December 13/14
The Geminid shower was first observed in 1862, and a century long search to identify the parent comet was not successful. Then, in 1983, a NASA satellite discovered an asteroid whose orbit matched that of the Geminid stream. This asteroid, named Phaethon, is thought to be an extinct comet that sheds dust grains from its crust as it approaches the sun.
------------------John CapobiancoCamden DE
Harvey BrownDelray Beach, FL
quote:Originally posted by StarDome:No doubt be cloudy here
Ian
I am hoping that those people who did any obervations actually recorded them and sent them of the the Various Meteor sections of the astronomical bodies in the countries in which they live such as the BAA in the UK. Dr John Mason at the BAA is a great guy, we spent some time together when he was involved in the Space-Files series and down at Patrick Moores house.
I'm just off up to the Lake District to run our annual Astronomy Masterclass event. Always a good event.
I once did a radio broadcast for BBC Radio London in the evening from the roof of their building down past Baker St.
The naked eye limiting magnitude was about 3 then, so for you to see so many this year in the capital is great news.
Shows how bright they were this year!
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