Tag: #TwinkleTwinkleLittleStar

Peak Of The Perseid Meteor Shower

The New Moon on Sunday, 8th guarantees a dark sky in which to view shooting stars – providing there are no clouds.  These are the Perseids and they began last month, becoming increasingly bright each night until their peak on 11th/12th/13th August.

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the brightest showers in the celestial calendar, with up to 100 shooting starts an hour to be seen if you’re in the Northern hemisphere. You should be able to see the Perseid meteor shower at around 12am (midnight) UK time to 5.30am. Look North East

Love is LoveIn Ancient Greek star lore, Perseus (slayer of the Gorgon Medusa) was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danaë. It is said that the Perseid shower commemorates the time when Zeus visited Danaë, the mother of Perseus, in a shower of gold., in a shower of gold 🙂
The chief characters in the Perseus legend, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and the sea monster (Cetus), all figure in the night sky as constellations.
The Perseid meteor shower gets its name as it appears to come out of the constellation Perseus.

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A Christmas Star On The Solstice

To end our chaotic year of 2020, from now until 25th December, it may look like a very bright star in the sky but in fact, it will be the conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter.

Photo Credit: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Since the summer, the two planets have been approaching one another more closely than in many generations.  From Dec. 16th – 25th, the two will be separated by less than the diameter of a Full Moon.  The last time this happened, Galileo was alive.
Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Rice University, Houston, Texas, Patrick Hartigan said in a press release: “You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.”

In reality, the planets risk no collision and it is the perspective from here on Earth that they appear so close together.

They now appear low in the Western sky for about an hour after sunset each evening.  The further North you are, the less time you will have to catch them before they fall below the horizon.

It is estimated that the planets will not be this close again until March 15, 2080, and after that, the next time will be in the year 2400.

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Draconids & Orionids Meteor Showers This Month

Named after Draco, the dragon constellation, the Draconid meteor shower is at its peak tonight and tomorrow evening.  Rather than wait until the wee small hours of the night, the Draconids are best seen in the evening, after nightfall, looking North. You do have to be patient as there are only about 5 per hour.

OrionFar more illuminating are the Orionids which have already begun but reach their peak on 20th/21st October. The meteors from the Orionids are dust and debris left behind by Halley’s Comet. Orion is a relatively easy constellation to find in our autumn and winter skies – it is in the Southeast at early evening and bright and high in the South by mid-to-late evening. It is also easily recognisable by the three bright stars that form the “belt of Orion,” The meteor shower appears to come from the constellation of Orion but they can be seen in the sky from all directions, without the need for binoculars or a telescope. The Moon will just be in the first quarter so the bright shower will be clearer to see. The Orionids are one of the most reliable meteor showers each year. One can usually see about 25 per hour.
All, of course, is weather dependant!

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