Meteor Showers

June Meteor Shower

I had some really poor weather for the meteor shower last month. I hope the skies are clear for the next meteor shower the June Bootids for you and me. This is also a fine time to observe for many of us, June ends the school year and signals the start of family vacation time. The summer is a grand time to view meteors! Treat the youngsters to a morning meteor shower viewing experience by getting out before dawn when the sky is still dark. I commonly get asked the question when and where should one look to see meteors. The answer is simple; one can stare anywhere in the sky to see meteors. I suggest looking to the darkest area in the sky and then tracing the backward path of a meteor to its radiant. The radiant is the spot where the meteors will seem to originate from. In this case it is the constellation Bootes and for viewers in the northern hemisphere it is located in the western sky and is higher on the horizon for those of dwelling north of the equator. Just remember meteors splash all over the sky, so pick a dark spot, be patient and relax.

Meteor viewing is fun and I’m very excited about this meteor shower because the parent comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke passed Earth last year so hopefully this will produce some outbursts. This shower is very unpredictable but it has been known to have some huge outburst in the past. This year there might be 20 to 50 visible meteors per hour, this is a bold estimate, but one never really knows. The phase of the moon this year also makes the sky somewhat darker than usual and as you may or may not know a light-filled sky is terrible for seeing meteors.

I have a few other post related to the June Bootids you can view them by clicking on the below links:

June Bootids Meteor Shower -1st  Blog Post

June Bootids Meteor Shower - Blog Post June 22

If you have any questions, please comment in this blog post or at one of the other blogs. I will be happy to answer your questions and always enjoy hearing about your sightings. Keep your head up and happy meteor gazing.

- Meteor Mark

Meteor Shower

The June Bootids Meteor Shower starts this morning June 22, 2009.  This could be a super year for this event.  This shower will remain active until July 2 and peaks June 27, 2009.  Here is a meteor shower fun fact: Did you know that a meteor shower is one of the most random, capricious and unpredictable astronomical happenings? To this day scientists have great difficulty forecasting meteor showers.

For more details visit the post: June Bootids.

In the mean time bookmark the site and keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark

Meteor Freak

Is it really true that a meteor hit a German person? When I first heard the “news” of this event I had my doubts. This isn’t impossible, but I would have to say it is improbable. Here is what supposedly happened, a 14-year old German boy, Gerrit Blank, claims that he saw a bright light and heard an enormous clap of thunder. He also claims, the meteorite left a foot wide crater in the ground after grazing off the back of his hand.

Now some meteor facts to help you decide:  Meteoroids enter the atmosphere at anywhere from 40,000 to 120,000 miles per hour but meteoroids are not usually traveling at speeds fast enough to produce light (meteor) when they are near the ground. A meteoroid will generally reach a terminal velocity of approximately 200 to 400 miles per hour anywhere from 9 to 12 miles high. Meteorites are usually not glowing hot when they hit the ground due to the ablation process, which is basically the same principle spacecraft use to reenter our atmosphere.

Please understand I really want to believe that this occurred, but the story just doesn’t add up. I welcome your comments but in the meantime bookmark the site and get ready for the June Bootids occurring June 22.  We look forward to increased meteor shower activity in the next three months.

I am going to look a little further into this story, but I have my doubts. Keep your head up.

- Meteor Mark