Gemind Meteors and Comet Wirtanen

Well, I was awake as the sun rose, awake as it set, there as the moon rose, and there as it set.

Only one of those times is significant, the time of moonset. For this would take its ivory glow out of the sky and let the night darken for the two major astronomical events of the night.

The Geminid meteors, and Comet Wirtanen.

I'll get the Geminid meteors out of the way first. These days it is regarded as the best UK meteor  shower to watch, not so much because of the number of meteors you see, but because unlike the Perseids in August, the radiant rises at a much earlier hour and you don't have to stay up till past 1am to get good shooting star views.

Although, you know, freezing cold.

They were actually quite disappointing! Yes I saw a few meteors, but nothing particularly bright, let alone spectacular. And fewer than I was expecting given that late on when I was observing the radiant wasn't far enough off the zenith. Boo hoo.

Now to Comet Wirtanen.

This comet has a period of 5 and a half years, is barely a mile across, and like most short period comets normally requires a telescope the size of a cannon to see it. But due to freak things like Newton's laws, the comet is in its best position for observation from the Earth. Of all time, past and future.

Last night, I managed to see it. OK, it was a misty blob of very low surface brightness about half the size of the full moon. Magnitude 3 maybe, but so diffuse the chance of seeing it naked eye as the newspapers have suggested are virtually zero unless you are in a dark  sky park at least 50 miles from the nearest glow-worm.

But I saw it!

I don't see many comets, so to see this misty blob is a rare treat. It made up for the underwhelming meteors. It also convinced me eyes are still just about OK too.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.12.18

Final Geminid 2015 Report

Well, the final report is one of disappointment after the 2015 Geminid meteor shower started so well here in Newark!

My first proper observation session took place at 2am on the night of the 12th-13th. It was well below zero, but warmly dressed, it was strangely pleasant reclining on a garden chair in the frost, watching the stars crisply pierce the black vault above.

In the 45 minute session I had, I observed 8 Geminids, none brighter than 2nd magnitude and most fainter. The last quarter moon was providing some interference in the East, but bright meteors were still easily visible. In fact the brightest I saw were two sporadics of first magnitude streaking North - South through Leo, against the tide as it were.

The night of maximum, the 13th-14th (Saturday-Sunday) commenced with me making a 7km run around the streets, including a trip up Clay Lane and to the Elm Avenue cricket ground. Here skies were dark, and I was certain of seeing meteors, or so I thought.

As it happened, during the 45 minute run with these frequent meteor stops, I saw no meteors, despite the gloriously clear skies. Of odd looks from dog walkers and car drivers, wondering who this neck craning athlete was, there were many. Of shooting stars, there were none.

However, during a 15 minute session later on where I observed from a well lit street, I saw 5 meteors at around 8pm and was really hopeful of a fantastic night of illuminations. Ha ha. In the great tradition of British weather, clouds rolled in from nowhere at around 9pm and blanked the sky out for the rest of the night.

Cruel. So cruel.

The night of post maximum was the same, and the one after. Finally, on the Tueday night, I saw my final Geminid of the shower, a proud but strangely sad specimen heading East leaving a short trail.

No more.

It could have been so darn good!

Time to Enjoy the Geminid Meteors

For many many years, it was the night of August 12th that was the most looked forward to on the shooting star watcher's calendar; the night of the annual Perseid maximum.

Despite their reputation, the Perseids have many drawbacks as a spectacle. For a start, the radiant, the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate from, rises very late in the UK, and thus the optimum time for observing the meteors is well past midnight. Also, in mid summer, the skies are never as dark as they are in winter, and so some fainter meteors will be drowned out in the deep twilight conditions.

Thirdly, the weather has not been great the last couple of years, with the night of maximum often clouded out.

The Geminids, which will reach maximum this weekend on the night of 13th-14th December, seem to have overtaken the Perseids as the most reliable shower of the year. For a start they have a longer build up, allowing meteors to be seen in the week to ten days prior to maximum. They tend to be slower moving and brighter, and thus easier to see. The winter skies are darker and crisper, allowing fainter meteors to be seen. And finally, the radiant is already reasonably high in the sky by the early evening, and not far from overhead by midnight which makes them a spectacle children can enjoy too.

Unlike meteor showers like the Perseids and Leonids - associated with the comets Swift-Tuttle and Temple-Tuttle respectively - the source of the Geminids seems to be the asteroid Phaeton, an object with an orbit that takes it twice as close to the sun as the planet Mercury, raising its temperature to 750C in the process.

I saw my first Geminid of the 2014 season last night at about midnight, streaking through the constellations of Triangulum and Australia. Just after it did so, a pair of canada geese flew low overhead, softly glowing in the moonlight. It just went to emphasise what magical sights there are to have while meteor watching.

The best time for observing Geminids this year will probably be up to midnight - one am on the night of the 13th-14th - after this, a last quarter moon will start to interfere although plenty of brighter meteors will still be visible. Unlike the Perseids, which tend to be seen closer to the radiant, Geminids tend to wander much further across the sky. Because of this, a reclining chair with a good view of the zenith might well be the best place to watch the meteors from, although remember for the love of all that's holy to wrap up warm this time of year. A good view of the Southern portion of the sky might be best, particularly later on.

Watch for the colour of the meteors. Often Geminids will appear to have a markedly orange hue compared to the Perseids, and often they leave a smokey trail too. They may also appear to "wobble" slightly as they travel across the sky.

So lets hope for clear skies, and not too much in the way of savage frosts or numbing gales, and let us see what we shall see.

Good hunting!

Observing Geminid Maximum

Well, I gave it a go, posting myself outside at 11.30pm in a collection of various fleeces. I'd felt rather pleased with myself, doing a bit of "outreach" by advertising the best meteor shower of the year to my social contacts, but when I went outside, clouds were rolling in to make me look like a fool. The moon also was making things difficult.

Locally anyway. People further South had better luck.

Myself, I saw 4 meteors in around 20 minutes, mainly through thick haze and in scant gaps between the heavier clouds. As before, all were heading South in the sky, and were observed between the radiant and Orion. The last one I saw was the choice specimen, a magnitude zero or better meteor on a path through Monoceros, the constellation of the unicorn.

There are still meteors to be seen in the next day or two, so here's hoping for clearer skies, and for some miracle to somehow blank the moon out...

First Geminid Meteors of the Season!

Ahead of Friday's Geminid maximum, took advantage of reasonably clear skies and a low half moon to make my first Geminid observations for 2013.

Although the Perseids of August are often talked up as being the best shower of the year, in practice I find the Geminids to be a better observing experience. The radiant is higher in the sky much earlier, winter skies are darker, and the meteors themselves tend to be slower moving and brighter than the Perseids.

The main problem is the cold, and believe me, it was pretty sharp last night!

I observed for half an hour from 1am, and managed to pick up 5 bright meteors in this time, strangely most of them in the low south, streaking through Orion and Canis Major. Thought I would see more in the vast blank patch of sky overhead that was the constellation of Camelopardalis.

If skies clear, I shall make some more observations tonight, and hopefully there will be an increase in visible meteor numbers. I will also take a scaldingly hot cup of coffee outside with me tonight to improve my observational endurance!

Geminids, chockabloke, checking in!

As with the Perseids, bad weather on the night of maximum has been a bit of a blow this Geminid season. But, braving freezing weather I managed to get out and have short sessions with my neck achily cranked towards Gemini high in the South, and meteors have been around!

The thing I've noticed this year is that the slow moving, yellow orange beauties that are bright and leave a smoky trail as they meander somewhat across the sky, have not been around! The first Geminid I saw this year was like that, but the rest have been mainly short trailers in the vicinity of the radiant, and not many approaching mag 1.

The best night was the 12th. The skies cleared late on, and in what went on to be a -7 degree night in Grnatham nearby - car thermometers in town were reporting -5, I saw 9 Geminids in a 25 minute session before my hands (in two pairs of gloves) threatened to drop off.

And then, the skies went a murky sulfur street light orange on the night of maximum itself, while I had to endure 3 meteors a minute reports from 'Oop Naaaarth. Lucky so and sos!

Last night saw three Geminids in half an hour, but I did have binoculars clamped on my eyes a fair bit of the time as I took in Messier 41, Kembles Cascade and hunted for La Superba against horrible reflected streetlight glow in my eyes. But The Beehive M44 was visible as a prominient naked eye blur, and seemingly one of the Auriga clusters seemed to be naked eye visible. Unless I'm mistaking a patch of milky way for this.

That had me hmming, I can tell you! But who caresa about a little perplexment, when you can VIEW THE STARS FOR FREE

Geminid Fireball

Last night the wind was howling in, a bitter southwesterly liver slicer, that frankly made the idea of astronomical observing rather unattractive compared to stuffing yourself with tea and biscuits. The high waning moon in Gemini near the radiant made meteor watching seem an unrewarding prospect as well, so aside from the odd peak outside, I stayed in and I drank tea and stuffed myself with biscuits.

But at 0045 I stuck my head out again, and immediately was rewarded for my lack of persistence by the sight of a glorious fireball heading north through the bleak badlands beyond the pole star towards the northern horizon. Easily brighter than Venus, I'd put it at mag -5, and it was a sort of copper flame green colour, and was emitting pink "sparks" as it burnt up. It was that pretty I told my girlfriend I ought to have hung it around her neck.

Fortified with a strong rum and coke, I had a more determined watch for half an hour or so at about 3am, but the moon was virtually overhead, and I only saw one meteor of about mag zero in this period - I don't have great skies either so I was double hampered.

Will try again tonight in patches. But my god, wrap up warm. It's turn your hands purple weather.