Catch a Falling Star

Simply unbelievable! We had some nice cool and crystal clear nights a few days before the Perseid meteor shower, and then on the peak night we had mostly overcast skies! I've got some choice words for the weather in New England this year, but I can't print them here!!! The Perseid curse continues.

The weather forecast for the peak night did look bleak, so I tried to observe the night before. Early evening clouds diminished by midnight, so I went out and observed until 1:15 am. Then the clouds began to roll in once again. Within five minutes the entire sky was overcast. I only saw two Perseid meteors!

True to the weather forecast, the next night was very cloudy at sunset. Then around midnight or so I looked out and saw an opening directly overhead. The sky had a milky look to it. High thin clouds blocked all but the brightest stars. All I could really see was the Summer Triangle, an area of sky bounded by the stars Deneb, Altair and Vega. That hole in the sky eventually became smaller and smaller and the overcast thickened. After about 45 minutes of frustration I called it quits since not a single meteor presented itself. It just wasn't worth it.

I woke up around 4:00 am and tried my luck again, but conditions were about the same. The only thing that made it worthwhile was the rising thin crescent Moon with brilliant Venus accompanying it. Unfortunately no meteors complemented the view in the 15 to 20 minutes I spent out on my back porch before dawn. I hope folks in other parts of the country had better luck. The Perseids used to be pretty good for us, but not in the last twenty years or so. Fortunately there are other astronomical events to observe, including two meteor showers in October.

First up is the Draconid meteor shower on the night of October 7-8. The waning crescent Moon, just past last quarter, will rise about midnight and somewhat hamper observation of this meteor display. The comet (Giacobini-Zinner) which produced this stream of particles last passed by in 1998. Unfortunately we do not usually get high rates this long after the comet's last appearance. Considering that the peak rate is only about 10 meteors per hour, we can possibly expect as few as zero or at most five or six. They are slow moving meteors, hitting our atmosphere at 12.5 miles per second. You may get more sporadics (random meteors) than Draconids. Draconids radiate from the northern sky in the constellation Draco.

The best meteor shower in October is the Orionids. Peak night this year occurs on October 20-21 with a first quarter Moon that will set around 11:30 pm. You can't ask for observing conditions any better than this, except of course, that the sky will be cloud free!! The Orionids put on their best show after midnight anyway, so moonlight won't be a problem this year.

As the night progresses, Orion will rise higher and higher into the sky. From a sky well away from any source of light pollution an observer should have no difficulty observing 15-20 yellow and green meteors per hour during peak after midnight. These remnants of Halley's Comet intercept the Earth's orbit nearly head-on at 41.6 miles per second, so they are bright and are also noted for producing fireballs that create persistent dust trains high in the atmosphere. Good luck.

Later this month we have a total lunar eclipse on the night of October 27-28. This will be the last such eclipse until 2007. A separate column about this beautiful sky event will be forthcoming. Let's hope all these astronomical events will be observable. What the heck! There's sugar free. There's lead free. There's carb free. I just want cloud free!!

And lastly, don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour on Sunday, October 31 at 2:00 am. We return to Eastern Standard Time. Many folks miss those long summer nights where it doesn't get dark until late in the evening. Astronomers love it because they can begin to observe earlier.

Remember, Seagrave Observatory is open free of charge to the public every clear Saturday night(except October 2). Check our web site - http://www.theskyscrapers.org - for further information, and always keep your eyes to the skies.