Posted on 05/19/2014 2:50:40 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
Astronomers are predicting the astronomical event of a lifetime next week. On 24 May 2014, Earth will pass through the debris tail of Comet 209P/LINEAR, which will unleash a myriad of cosmic explosions lighting up the night sky.
This will be the first time Earth has ever experienced this particular meteor shower. A meteor shower happens when the Earth passes through debris left in space by a comet; the chunks of rock, ice and other materials, burn up in the atmosphere to form ‘shooting’ or ‘falling stars’.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailydigestnews.com ...
“Shooting stars are very rare and most people accidentally see one once every few years. If they go out for five to 10 minutes on that particular night they could see more than an astronomer sees in a lifetime. It is a very big event cosmically.” ... Mr Moore said North America will see the shooting star shower at its height as it will be night there when the Earth hits the comet dust.
“It currently favours north America but we are the last country to North America. We could catch the whole event,” he said.
Global warming?
Just the announcement could guarantee a cloudy night. The last three perseid meteor showers have all been cloudy nights.
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/05/16/newly-predicted-meteor-shower-could-be-a-doozy/
I’ll keep a positive outlook.
Actually, ALL meteor showers are a “never before experienced” thing, since the meteors burn-up.
I’m praying for clear skies next week.
S. Stars are rare?????? I see at least one every single time I stargaze... 150 or so times a year.
Camelopardalis is located close to the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, two of the most recognizable constellations to the layman astronomer. Therefore, the star-gazing event can be easily viewed by the public with little time and energy spent discerning a star map to find the location of Camelopardalids.
Peak time for Camelopardalids will be from 2-4 AM on 24 May 2014, but astronomers expect the meteor shower to be visible as early as 23 May, due to the new moon immersing the night sky in darkness.
Reminder bump.
Bush’s fault
Tribbles are cuter.
Am I the only one who thinks there may be an earth-hazard in passing through the recent comet’s debris field?
Camelopardalids? That is a dumb name.
That was my exact thought!
I recall watching that movie as a kid and thought those plants looks alot like giant Sunflowers LOL
Probably not, but those fears are unfounded. We pass through such a field twice a year, during the Leonid and Perseid meteor showers, which come from the dust trail of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Most falling stars range in size from grains of sand to small pebbles, and disintegrate miles overhead.
Don’t worry, the earth was created with this in mind.
It's near the Polaris, why not Polaroids?
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