SpaceWatchtower: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

Martian Landing Site: 77 Yrs. After 'War of the Worlds' Panic Broadcast

Photograph of monument at the supposed landing site of a 1938 Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. (Image Source: Wikipedia.org )

By Vince Farinaccio, The Grapevine Newspaper

Grovers Mill today has few landmarks to remind of its infamy of 77 years ago.

Anyone traveling through Grovers Mill, New Jersey today might be underwhelmed by the unassuming nature of this hamlet nestled in the rural confines of West Windsor Township. The Martians that landed here 77 years ago have long since met their demise from the Earth’s germs, and the radio broadcast that carried the details of their landing has been forgotten by many of the residents here and elsewhere. But reminders of the infamous Orson Welles Mercury Theater radio show of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds are still scattered throughout the area as a vestige to the village’s claim to fame.

The site of Van Nest Park, established in 1962 near Grovers Pond, isn’t considered the actual landing site of the Martians, but it contains the story of the broadcast for anyone unfamiliar with the historic event. According to The New York Times, it took half a century after the broadcast to unveil a monument to the event:

“To mark the 50th anniversary of the faux invasion in October 1988, the town held a three-day festival with costume contests, a parade, a bike race and fireworks. At that time, a plaque depicting Orson Welles, a spaceship and frightened radio listeners was installed in Van Nest Park, next to Grovers Pond.”

More - Link >>> https://snjtoday.com/jersey-reflections-grovers-mill-now/

Sources: The Grapevine Newspaper, SNJ Today.

Related Blog Posts ---

'War of the Worlds' Panic Broadcast: 75th Anniversary." 2013 Oct. 29.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/10/war-of-worlds-panic-broadcast-75th.html

'War of the Worlds' Panic Broadcast Remembered by NJ Woman." 2014 Oct. 30.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/10/war-of-worlds-panic-broadcast.html

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Monday, October 26, 2015

Hunter's Full Moon Another 'Super Moon'

The Hunter's Moon (Image Source: NASA).

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

The annual Hunter's Moon is visible, weather permitting, Monday and Tuesday evenings / early Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week, as well as a near-Full Hunter's Moon for the rest of the week. And, as with last month's Harvest Moon, this month's Hunter's Moon is also a so-called 'Super Moon.'

Actually, the exact moment of the Full Moon of October, known as the Hunter's Moon most years, is 8:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 12:05 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Tuesday Morning, 2015 October 27.

While the Native Americans, as well as the farmers of Europe and early America, gave names to each Full Moon of the year, normally associating each Full Moon name with a particular month of the year, two well-known Full Moon names stray from this convention. The annual Harvest Moon and the annual Hunter's Moon are aligned with the season of Autumn or Fall, and each can occur in one of two possible months each year.

The Harvest Moon is defined as the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox; the Autumnal Equinox occurs each year around September 23. Of course, the Harvest Moon can, and often does, occur in late Summer, before the Autumnal Equinox. The Hunter's Moon is simply defined as the Full Moon following the Harvest Moon.

So, in certain years (approximately one-third of the time), the Harvest Moon occurs in early October, as then the Full Moon of October is closer to the Autumnal Equinox than the September Full Moon. Then, the Hunter's Moon is pushed-off until early November.

The Hunter's Moon, as with the Harvest Moon, is special, because it gave our ancestors more light in the evening, as the Sun was setting earlier each day. On average, the Moon rises about 50.47 minutes later from one day to the next. However, during the week around the time of the Hunter's Moon and the Harvest Moon, the Moon rises only about a half-hour later each day, for several days before and after the Hunter's Moon or Harvest Moon in mid-northern latitudes (and only 10-to-20 minutes later each day in much of Canada and Europe).

On average, the Full Moon rises about the time of sunset (and sets around the time of sunrise). During the week around the time of the Harvest Moon, and the time of the Hunter's Moon, the time between sunset and moonrise is much shorter than at other times of the year. This is due to the inclination of the Moon's orbital plane, this time of year, which causes the Moon to rise further north along the eastern horizon.

This meant that, for a week around the time of the Harvest Moon, farmers had light into the evening which allowed them to finish harvesting their crops.

In the case of the week around the time of the Hunter's Moon, this gave our ancestors light in the evening to hunt more game, to save for the coming long Winter. By the time of the Hunter's Moon, the crops had all been harvested, ensuring that game could not find hiding places in farm fields, as fox and other animals tried to glean left-overs in the fields. Likewise, with many trees barren of leaves, it was easier for hunters to find their prey in the forests.

At this time of year, deer and other animals were fattening themselves for the long Winter. Hence, this was the perfect time for hunting these animals. The Hunter's Moon served as a warning, to both European farmers as well as North American tribes, of the looming cold and snowy days of Winter. Hence, the Hunter's Moon was often an important feast day in both Europe and America.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Native Americans also called the October Full Moon the Blood Moon or Sanquine Moon. They were also known to call the month of October the Leaf-Falling Month or the Nuts Month.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the October Full Moon was known as the Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Pink Moon, and Waking Moon. The Hunter's Moon for the Southern Hemisphere usually occurs in April, while the Harvest Moon usually occurs in March near the Vernal Equinox.

This year's Hunter's Moon is also a so-called 'Super Moon,' as was last month's Harvest Moon. This is because lunar perigee occurred almost exactly 23 hours prior to the Hunter's Moon: 9:00 a.m EDT / 13:00 UTC on Monday Morning, 2015 October 26. The Moon was then only 358,464 kilometers from the Earth. As with many lunar perigee Full Moons, large tides are predicted along ocean coastlines, at that time.

Also, at the time of the Hunter's Moon this year, the Planet Uranus would appear to be near the Moon in the sky, if it could be seen. However, Uranus is very difficult to find, at this time, due to the brightness of the Full Moon.

More about the Hunter's Moon ---
Link 1 >>> http://earthsky.org/tonight/almost-full-hunters-moon-couples-up-with-uranus-october-26
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon#Harvest_and_hunter.27s_moons

More on the so-called "Super Moon": Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon

More on the Full Moon: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon

More on Full Moon names ---
Link 1 >>> http://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names/
Link 2 >>> http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/full-moon-names
Link 3 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon#Harvest_and_hunter.27s_moons

Related Blog Posts ---

"TONIGHT: 'Blood / Super' & Harvest Moon Tetrad Eclipse w/ Web-Casts." 2015 Sept. 27.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/09/tonight-blood-super-harvest-moon-tetrad.html

"Harvest Moon: 3rd 'SuperMoon' of 2014." 2014 Sept. 8.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/09/harvest-moon-3rd-supermoon-of-2014.html

"Harvest Moon: Thursday 7:13 a.m. EDT." 2013 Sept. 17.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/09/harvest-moon-thur-713-am.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Saturday, October 24, 2015

NASA Laser Com-System Miniaturized & Improved Data Precision

This was the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), a NASA satellite which orbited the Moon in 2013 and 2014. Science payloads ---
LLCD: Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration
NMS: Neutral Mass Spectrometer
UVS: UV-Visible Spectrometer
LDEX: Lunar Dust Experiment
(Image Sources: "LADEE Spacecraft" by NASA - NASA LADEE. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LADEE_Spacecraft.jpg#/media/File:LADEE_Spacecraft.jpg )

By Lori Keesey, NASA

A NASA-developed laser communication (lasercom) system made headlines in 2013 when it demonstrated record-breaking data download and upload speeds to the Moon. Now, a NASA optical physicist says he can match those speeds—plus provide never-before-achieved, highly precise distance and speed measurements—all from the same relatively small package.

Called the Space Optical Communication and Navigation System, the breadboard technology is made up of commercially available components simulating both ground and space terminals. It recently demonstrated in laboratory testing that it could provide micrometer-level distance and speed measurements over a 622 megabits-per-second (Mbps) laser communication link.

"Combined with the large communication bandwidth, high-precision ranging over an optical communication network will bring about significant advances in navigation and communications, to say nothing of science gathering, notably in the area of geodesy," said technology developer Guan Yang, an optical physicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Geodesy is the science of measuring variations in Earth's gravitational field caused by changing land mass.) And because of its diminutive size, "it also will enable use on CubeSats," an increasingly popular spacecraft bus that typically is no larger than a shoebox.

The ground-based test was similar to one carried out in late 2013 aboard another Goddard-developed lasercom experiment hosted on NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE).

"Combined with the large communication bandwidth, high-precision ranging over an optical communication network will bring about significant advances in navigation and communications, to say nothing of science gathering, notably in the area of geodesy," said technology developer Guan Yang, an optical physicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Geodesy is the science of measuring variations in Earth's gravitational field caused by changing land mass.) And because of its diminutive size, "it also will enable use on CubeSats," an increasingly popular spacecraft bus that typically is no larger than a shoebox.
The ground-based test was similar to one carried out in late 2013 aboard another Goddard-developed lasercom experiment hosted on NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE).

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-10-nasa-lasercom.html#jCp

More - Link >>> http://phys.org/news/2015-10-nasa-lasercom.html

Sources: NASA, Phys.org .

Related Blog Post ---

"Lunar Laser Com-System Sets Data Transmission Record." 2013 Oct. 24.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/10/lunar-laser-com-system-sets-data.html

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Wed. PM / Thur. AM w/ Web-Cast

A green and red Orionid meteor.
(Image Sources: Wikipedia. org:"Orionid meteor" by Brocken Inaglory. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orionid_meteor.jpg#/media/File:Orionid_meteor.jpg)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

The annual Orionid Meteor Shower peaks Wednesday night / Thursday morning. The peak actually occurs on Wednesday Evening, 2015 October 21 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 23:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), although the best time to view the meteor shower is after local Midnight.

An Internet web-cast of this meteor shower will be available for areas with cloudy or inclement weather. An Internet link to this web-cast is at the end of this blog post.

The Orionids can often be seen a day or two on either side of the peak date, and sometimes Orionids can be seen for a week, around the time of the peak. The Orionid Meteor Shower is the most prolific meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. Although not always, in some years the rate of meteors seen at the peak time can average between 50 and 70 meteors per hour. However, it is more likely that you could expect to see about a dozen meteors per hour, around the peak time of the Orionid Meteor Shower.

A meteor shower normally consists of dust particles related to a comet. Each time a comet approaches the Sun, the comet loses dust particles following the melting or sublimating of ice on the comet. These dust particles, called meteoroids, continue to follow the same orbit as the comet and form a meteoroid stream. Each year, as the Earth orbits the Sun, the Earth passes through several of these meteoroid streams, becoming Earth's meteor showers.

The Earth's gravity then attracts many of these meteoroids to fall to Earth, and they are viewed by people as meteors, as they burn-up in the atmosphere. Most are extremely small and burn-up completely. From time-to-time, larger particles enter the atmosphere and create brilliant displays known as fireballs or bolides. If these particles are large enough, they may not completely burn-up and land on Earth as a meteorite.

The parent comet of this particular meteor shower is the famous Halley's Comet, one of the oldest known comets (the earliest recorded sighting of Halley's Comet was in 240 B.C.). Comet Halley is also the parent comet to the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower in early May.

Halley's Comet passed the Earth twice in the twentieth century: 1910 and 1985-1986. When the comet came close to Earth in 1910, famous astronomer and telescopes-maker John Brashear hosted public observing sessions of the comet at the nearly-completed, newer and larger Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh.

In 1985 and 1986, when the comet was not as close as in 1910, Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center) held public observing sessions for Halley's Comet, utilizing Buhl's rather unique 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope. The next time Halley's Comet passes the Earth, which will be closer than the 1985-1986 apparition, will be in 2061.

Meteor showers are not normally named after the parent comet. And, in this case, that would be confusing since Halley's Comet has spawned two major meteor showers.

These meteors are known as Orionids, as they appear to emanate from the Constellation Orion the Hunter—specifically the club held by Orion. Hence, Orion is known as the radiant point of this meteor shower. However, you should not, necessarily, be looking only at Orion, when looking for meteors in this shower. Meteors can appear in any part of the sky at any time (although a meteor's trail may tend to point back toward the radiant).

The Orionid Meteor Shower was first noticed in 1839. E.C. Herrick made this observation, as well as one the next year in 1840. A.S. Herschel made the first documented record, accurately forecasting this meteor shower.

The day before this meteor shower, the Moon reaches the First Quarter Phase: 2015 October 20 at 4:31 p.m. EDT / 20:31 UTC. Hence, a roughly half-lit lunar sphere will be setting a couple hours after local Midnight on October 21 and 22. This is good because bright moonlight should not interfere much with viewing the dimmer meteors in the early morning hours, when it is best to view this meteor shower.

So, if you go out to see the Orionid Meteor Shower, start looking for meteors around local Midnight, or perhaps a little later. Make sure you have a good site where you can see most of the sky, and that sky is relatively clear. Be sure to dress properly for the Autumn, early morning temperatures.

And, you want to go out ahead of time, before you actually start looking for meteors, to get your eyes accustomed to the dark sky. Dark-adapting your eyes for meteor-watching could take up to a half-hour.

Of course, meteor showers. like all celestial observations, are weather-permitting. If the weather in your area does not permit direct viewing outdoors of this meteor shower, it can be viewed during a special web-cast on the Internet.

A cautionary note for those who find it necessary to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower on the Internet. The video camera, used for each web-cast, can only aim at one part of the sky at a time. Hence, do not expect to see as many meteors as you might see with your own eyes outside. Outdoors, you can easily scan the entire sky for meteors, while a camera aimed at one area of the sky will only be able to see the meteors that enter that particular part of the sky

Internet Site for Viewing Orionid Meteor Shower Near Peak ---

Slooh Community Observatory – Wednesday Evening, 2015 October 21 beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT / October 22 at 0:00 UTC (observations from telescope in the Canary Islands of Spain):

Link >>> http://main.slooh.com/event/the-orionid-meteor-shower-2015/

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Name an Exo-Planet by Oct. 31

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

The general public is invited, free-of-charge, to vote on the naming of 20 distant planetary systems, including 15 stars and 32 exo-planets. Unlike the naming of a stadium or concert hall, no one pays money for the official naming rights to stars or planets (despite “star-naming” radio commercials you may have heard over-the-years). Hence, the general public will make the naming decisions regarding these celestial bodies.

This contest is being managed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), established by professional astronomers in 1919, which is the organization responsible for the official naming of objects beyond the Earth. Normally, the IAU allows the discoverer of a star or planet to name the object.

However, recognizing the public's growing interest in space exploration and astronomical discoveries, the IAU decided to work with Zooniverse, one of the largest citizen-science on-line platforms, to provide this rare opportunity for amateur astronomers, outer space enthusiasts, and any other member of the general public to participate in the naming of exo-planets.

Earlier, 200 proposed names were offered by organizations of amateur astronomers, and organizations of other interested people, from 45 different nations. The IAU reduced those names to a “short-list.” It is this short-list that the public can now vote on.

All public voting must be completed by the end of the month—Deadline: Saturday Evening, 2015 October 31 at 7:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 23:59 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The public can vote by accessing the special IAU Internet web site specifically for this vote (web site link listed at the end of this blog post).

To vote for a name for a celestial object, no special registration is necessary. Each device, computer or smart-phone, is permitted one vote. A special request must be filed if more than one person needs to vote on any one computer or other device. Once a vote is cast, it is final. You can take one vote on each and every object that is to be named in this particular contest.

The winning names will be used as common / popular names for the objects. However, the original scientific designations for each object will remain for use by astronomers and other scientists.

This IAU project began in 2014 and the voting was expected to be completed by the end of the Summer of 2015. However, the deadline was extended until October 31, to ensure everyone has the chance to vote.

In early November, the IAU Executive Committee Working Group on the Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites will oversee the final stages of the contest and validate the winning names from the public vote. The results of this public vote are expected to be announced by the IAU in mid-November.

2014 IAU News Release on the Public Naming of Exo-Planets:
Link >>> http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1404/

Vote on Names for Exo-Planets: Link >>> http://nameexoworlds.iau.org/

Related Blog Posts ---

"Deadline to Add Name to NASA Mars Lander: Tuesday Night." 2015 Sept. 6.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/09/deadline-to-add-name-to-nasa-mars.html

"Public: Help Name Pluto & Charon Surface Features, New U.S. Rocket." 2015 March 30.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/03/public-help-name-pluto-charon-surface.html

Schools: Name 5 Craters on Mercury By Jan. 15. 2015 Jan. 11.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/01/schools-name-5-craters-on-mercury-by.html

"Asteroid Named for Henry Buhl of Buhl Planetarium." 2014 June 26.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/06/asteroid-named-for-henry-buhl-of-buhl.html

"Captain Kirk: Name Pluto Moons 'Vulcan' & 'Romulus'. 2013 Feb. 14.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/02/captain-kirk-name-pluto-moons-vulcan.html

"Contest to Name Pluto's Newly-Found Moons." 2013 Feb. 12.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/02/contest-to-name-plutos-newly-found-moons.html

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Laser Observatory May Directly Detect Gravity Waves

Atmospheric Gravity Waves as seen from Space - Satellite image of Atmospheric
Gravity Waves over the Arabian Sea. Their visibility is due to sunglint, caused by
the "impression" of the atmospheric waves on the sea surface.
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org )

By Kenneth Hicks, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University in Athens
The Columbus Dispatch

Astronomers typically use telescopes of one sort or another to explore what’s going on in the cosmos.

But a new type of astronomy, one that uses a different apparatus that can measure gravitational waves, could be on the verge of making history.

Most telescopes collect light, which is an electromagnetic wave. Even radio telescopes operate on this principle; the only difference is that radio waves have a longer wavelength than light waves.
But electromagnetism is not the only way to make waves. According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity — 100 years old this year — gravity also can make waves as ripples in space-time.
How would you build a device to see gravitational waves?

The answer is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, which began as a collaboration of scientists in 1997 and just started recording data in mid-September.

The observatory uses a laser to precisely measure the length of two perpendicular arms, each 2.5 miles long. The technique, called interferometry, can measure the change in length to better than a fraction of a wavelength. This kind of precision is necessary because gravitational waves slightly expand one arm while contracting the other.

There are two LIGO facilities — one in the desert near Hanford, Wash., and the other near Livingston, La. Two facilities are needed because if one sees a gravitational wave, the other can confirm it. Both facilities are required to be in operation at the same time to avoid any false signals.

“I believe the first direct detection of gravitational waves by ... LIGO will excite the scientific community,” Madeline Wade said.

More - Link >>> http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2015/10/04/1-new-observatory-to-track-gravitational-waves.html

More on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO):
Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIGO

More on Gravity Waves: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_wave

Related Blog Post ---

"Gravity Waves Found: Strong Evidence of Big Bang Theory." 2014 March 17.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/03/gravity-waves-found-strong-evidence-of.html

Sources: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio University in Athens.

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Monday, October 5, 2015

Unpredictable Draconid Meteor Shower Peaks Thursday

Constellation Draco the Dragon, the apparent
radiant from where Draconid meteors emanate
(Image Source: University of Wisconsin).

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

A usually very modest, but also very unpredictable, meteor shower, which at some times in the past has created a meteor storm, peaks this week. The Draconid Meteor Shower, sometimes referred to as the Giacobinid Meteor Shower, peaks Thursday (2015 October 8) at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 20:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Of course, meteors would not be visible until after local sunset.

This meteor shower can usually be seen between October 6 and 10, with the peak occurring October 8 and 9. Although in most years only 1-to-2 meteors may visible per hour near the peak.

However, there have been major exceptions to this low meteor rate, in the past. The Draconid Meteor Showers of 1933 and 1946 had Zenithal Hourly Rates of thousands of meteors per hour. These were among the most impressive meteor storms of the 20^th century.

Other impressive outbursts of this meteor shower occurred with a sudden spike in 1998 and a less spectacular spike in 2005. An expected outburst did occur in 2011 (which included more than 400 meteors per hour), one of the most intense meteor showers of the decade. However the brightness from a waxing gibbous Moon reduced the number of meteors actually seen in 2011.

Up to 1000 meteors per hour were detected by radar observations of the 2012 outburst. It is speculated that this particular outburst may have been caused by a narrow trail of dust and debris left by the parent comet in 1959.

A meteor shower normally consists of dust particles related to a comet. Each time a comet approaches the Sun, the comet loses dust particles following the melting of ice on the comet. These dust particles, called meteoroids, continue to follow the same orbit as the comet and form a meteoroid stream. Each year, as the Earth orbits the Sun, the Earth passes through several of these meteoroid streams, becoming Earth's meteor showers.

The Earth's gravity then attracts many of these meteoroids to fall to Earth, and they are viewed by people as meteors, as they burn-up in the atmosphere. Most are extremely small and burn-up completely. From time-to-time, larger particles enter the atmosphere and create brilliant displays known as fireballs. If these particles are large enough, they may not completely burn-up and land on Earth as a meteorite.

The parent comet of this particular meteor shower is Comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner, hence the reason some call these meteors Giacobinids. These meteors are better known as Draconids, as they appear to come from the Constellation Draco the Dragon.

This meteor shower was predicted by several astronomers in the early part of the 20^th century. M. Davidson was the first to make such a prediction in 1915, after evaluating several comets capable of producing meteor showers. W.F. Denning became the first person to observe meteors that may have come from such a new meteor shower during the first half of October in 1915. After Davidson revised his prediction in 1920 (primarily due to a discovered, mathematical error in the original prediction), Denning made a conclusive observation of this new meteor shower, the meteors of which he described as “slow.”

To more easily see these meteors it is better to be away from city lights, as artificial lighting can drown-out the dimmer meteors. The best time to see any meteor shower is between local midnight and morning twilight, when the Earth is actually rotating-into the meteor shower. Of course meteor showers, like all celestial observations, are weather-permitting.

Binoculars and telescopes are not very useful for finding meteors. Meteors streak across the sky in a very short period of time, too short to aim binoculars or a telescope. So, the best way to view a meteor shower is to lie on the ground, in an area with a good view of the entire sky (with few obstructions such as buildings, trees, or hills), and keep scanning the entire sky.

Meteor showers appear to emanate from a radiant point in the sky. As previously mentioned, for the Draconid Meteor Shower, the radiant appears to be the Constellation Draco. However, you should not, necessarily, be looking only at Draco, when looking for meteors in this shower. Meteors can appear in any part of the sky at any time.

This week, a waning crescent Moon does not begin to rise until the early morning hours. So, moonlight should not be a major hindrance to viewing Draconids.

So, if you want to take a chance on this unpredictable meteor shower, start looking for meteors around local Midnight, or perhaps a little earlier. Make sure you have a good site where you can see most of the sky, and that sky is relatively clear. Be sure to dress properly for the Autumn, early morning temperatures.

And, you want to go out ahead of time, before you start actual viewing of meteors, to get your eyes accustomed to the dark sky. Dark-adapting your eyes for meteor watching could take up to a half-hour.

More about the Draconid Meteor Shower ---
Link 1 >>> http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/draconids.html
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draconids

More about Constellation Draco the Dragon ---
Link 1 >>> http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Draco.html
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_%28constellation%29

Related Blog Posts ---

"2011 Meteor Shower Deposits Ton of Material On Earth." 2013 June 10.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/06/2011-meteor-shower-deposits-ton-of.html

"Tonight: Unpredictable Draconid Meteor Shower Peaks." 2012 Oct. 7.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/tonight-unpredictable-draconid-meteor.html

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Astronomical Calendar: 2015 October

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/UN_Headquarters_2.jpg

United Nations complex, looking from New York City's First Avenue
toward the Dag Hammarskjold Library, 39-floor Secretariat, and General
Assembly buildings. October 24 marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations
(also the 76th anniversary of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science), formally established shortly after the conclusion
of World War II (Image Source: Wikipedia.org ).

Astronomical Calendar for 2015 October:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2015.html#oct

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
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