Asteriod Showers

[rikjpool]

I'm not a huge Space fan and know every single name of every comet and red star out there, But I do enjoy seeing a shooting star or 2. I think everyone has at one point in there lives seen one, and the small adrenaline rush from seeing something falling from the sky. Last night I saw an awesome sight of a single Meteor falling through the sky. Massive trail of light breaking up upon entry into the atmosphere.

Now this article in the Daily Telegraph caught my attention....

Nasa warns new meteor storm 'could damage Hubble and International Space Station'
Satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station are under new threat from the most powerful meteor storm in more than a decade, Nasa scientists have warned.

Astronomers believe the seven-hour bombardment from the comet debris, due later next year, could strike orbiting spacecraft and wreck their electronics.

Space Agency scientists said it will likely create a spectacular visual event for star gazers.
Nasa said the storm, which crosses the Earth's orbit around the sun every October, comes from a meteor shower called the Draconids.

It has been given that name because the meteors appear to stream in from the direction of the constellation of Draco the Dragon. They are also known as the Giacobinids after the name of the comet that dumped them, Giacobini-Zinner.

Nasa scientists admitted this week they were unclear how serious the storm will be, but spacecraft operators were already being notified to develop defensive mechanisms.

As a result, Nasa is currently investigating reorienting the international space station and Hubble space telescope to ensure vulnerable areas are turned away from the incoming sandblast.

Spacewalks could also be banned until the threat from the river of rock particles has passed.

But satellites, including those providing vital services such as communications, satnav and television, will weather the storm.

Apart from the physical danger from a direct strike, electrostatic discharges can fry their vital electronics.

Most years rates are fairly low, but can dramatically increase about every 13 years as the Earth travels through the densest part of the stream of particles.

Rates peaked at 54,000 meteors an hour for any single observer under ideal conditions in 1933 and 10,000 in 1946.

The last major display happened in 1998, peaking at a few hundred every hour, which was still the largest seen for recent years.

Dr William Cooke, from the Meteoroid Environment Office at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Alabama, said contingency plans were already being developed to avoid problems when the storm is expected to hit.

His computer predictions concluded that several hundred meteors an hour could be visible from the earth on October 8 next year.

"We really didn't understand what was going on. Now we have a much better feel," he told space.com.

"We're already working with (other) Nasa programmes to deal with spacecraft risk. I imagine when the word gets out there will be a Draconid outburst, I'll get the usual calls from … companies as well as government space programs.

“If you are hit by a sporadic [meteor], it's an act of God. If you are hit by a shower meteoroid, it's an act of negligence.”

He added: "Even if the Draconids were a full-scale meteor storm I would be confident that the space station (officials) would take the right steps to mitigate the risk."

His warnings were first aired at a meteoroid conference last month in Colorado.



Now that would be a show to see... Imagine the sight, and the photo ops!! Keep an eye on this one guys!!

[Lily]

Interesting read, thanks Riki. I wonder how accurate his computer model is? We need a calendar on the forum Definitely a good one to get the telescope out for

[daviescr]

Yeah, thank for that Rik. totally agree with you - definitely get a little rush when you see one and usually a big "WOW"

You probably saw part of the Lyrids annual event - a slow-burner compared to the Draconids in your article.

I used to dabble in astronomy a few years back - but is an even more expensive hobby than photography so it got the boot.

However, I do remember the last big Drac shower back in '98 - was a significant event and remember seeing about 2-3 every minute for most of the night back then - not just little streaks either - goof bright green and blue flares....

Anyhow if anyone is interested, the best time of year to see a good shower is the second week of August - the Perseids are one fo the most active and consistant year to year - up to 60 meteors per hour are the norm, and there will be no moon at that time of the month, so will be good dark skies...

here's a good link to a meteor calendar: http://www.theskyscrapers.org/meteors/i ... /year/2010

[Lily]

Oh cool! I don't know a thing about this, but would love to learn a bit more. What/when/how is the best way to observe? If we were up at Eildon with the telescope we'd probably see quite a lot (stars are incredibly bright up there compared to Melbourne). Is there a particular direction we should look?

Sorry about the novice questions lol.

[Jake Smethurst]

I love Astronomy as well, and this is very interesting. Thanks Rik!! Will be hanging over a year for that!

Thanks too Dav, will be keeping an eye out this August. Sounds interesting, hopefully a cloud-free night!

[Dc449]

I have only become interested in astronomy the past few months. Will be waiting for August.
BTW as posted above earlier, the stars in eildon can be amazing.

[brayden]

Sweet as guys! Love a meteor shower, remember watching the leonids from huon's hill in the dong back in 2001. was awesome.

Yeah the draconids can either be minimal or poss. peak to storm levels. looks like a good one for next year though hey! man imagine what 1933 would have been like with 54,000 an hr (15 a sec!)

here's a good site for seeing whats going on space wise from Ian (top bloke)
http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm

Also the IMO for meteor showers
http://www.imo.net/
(link to the left for the 2010 meteor shower calender)

Will deff. watch it for this year, but next year might have to take work off and go WA woop woop, away from lights lol

[daviescr]

Hey everyone,
we are in the middle of the optimal time to watch the Perseid meteors. Best seen from the northern hemisphere, but certainly not impossible from here in Melbourne.

We may have missed the best of it, but we're still in with a chance in the next 12 hours.. Best viewed in the early hours tomorrow morning (saturday), look towards the horizon almost directly north...



Happy spotting...

[daviescr]

Here we go again, if anyone is up in the wee small hours in the morning, tonight looks to be a great night to spot some nice meteors - we are at the peak of activity for the Leonid Meteors, although this year is thought not to be a major year.

Expect around 10-15 meteors per hour, visible to the naked eye. here's where to look (mainly between 2am and 4am):


I won't be watching this time, nothing like a 7 month old baby to zap your desire to stay up all night!

Have fun

Chris

[SunsetTwilight]

Can't wait! It's that time of year again

After not being able to view the perseids with cloudy conditions I hope i get to see these!