Heads up: 'Supermoon' to appear on Monday

MANILA -- On Monday, Filipinos can get a glimpse of the so-called "supermoon" as it reaches its closest point during its orbit around the Earth in 68 years.

According to state weather bureau PAGASA, the moon will reach the perigee or its closest point to Earth at 7:21 p.m., almost two hours and 31 minutes before going full moon at 9:52 p.m.

This will be the closest perigee since January 26, 1948. The moon won’t be seen this close to Earth again until November 26, 2034.

"This year’s supermoon is one of the closest and biggest in 68 years and it won’t happen again until 2034," PAGASA said in its advisory.

PAGASA explained that the "supermoon" is a modern astrological term coined by Richard Nole.

It is defined as “a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit" and is called a Perigee Full Moon, or one that is closer to Earth than average, in astronomy.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a supermoon can be as much as 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an apogee full moon.

However, a 30 percent difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

It's showtime for Perseid meteors

Dark skies due to a nearly invisible moon will make this year's Perseid meteor shower -- peaking Wednesday and Thursday -- an especially star-studded event, astronomers say.

So grab a folding chair, prepare a list of wishes, and get as far from bright city lights and clouds as you can to watch the natural firework display.

You do not even need a telescope or special, geeky glasses.

At its peak, up to 100 shooting stars per hour will streak across the sky -- more than one a minute.

Viewing is expected to be even easier this year because the moon's glow won't interfere with meteor-watching, as it will be approaching its darkest or "new" phase, experts say.

The light show will be visible around the globe, but especially bright in northern latitudes above the United States, Europe and East Asia.

What we often call "falling stars" are actually tiny bits of space rock that smash into the atmosphere at about 60 kilometres (37 miles) per second, burning up in flashes of light.

Occasionally, longer and brighter streaks are seen, from pea- or marble-sized comet remnants.

The flaming nuggets visible over the next couple of days are from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which swings around the solar system every 130 years or so.

"All comets probably have a bad case of dandruff," said Carolin Crawford, the public astronomer at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy.

"But this one is one where the Earth's orbit takes it smack through the centre of the trail of debris that it leaves behind."

Swift-Tuttle last crossed paths with Earth's orbit in 1992.

The visual intensity of the meteor shower is caused not only by the number of space pebbles streaking into the atmosphere but also by the angle at which we approach them.

"It's like driving through a snow storm," said Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History.

"A meteor shower is a collision between the Earth" -- whipping through Space -- "and this debris tail," she explained.

"We are not hitting one little spot, but turning through it. As in a snow storm, when you are in the front of a car it looks way worse than when you are at the back."

Amateur interest around the globe is high, but astronomy shops in London were not exactly buzzing with talk of the meteor shower Wednesday.

"It's not something we spend a great amount of time chatting to people about," said someone from The Widescreen Centre, an astronomy supplies store.

"Meteor showers are best seen with the unaided eye and we can't sell people equipment to do that."

The showers are named after the constellation of Perseus, the hero from Greek mythology who beheaded the snake-headed Medusa to save the princess Andromeda.

"It's going to be a spectacular show this year," astronomer Morgan Hollis of the Royal Astronomical Society told AFP previously. "You'll be able to a see a lot more than normal."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Giant asteroid set to buzz Earth, poses no threat

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An asteroid measuring about a third of a mile (half a kilometer) in diameter will make a relatively close, but harmless pass by Earth Monday night, NASA said.

The asteroid will pass about 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Earth, roughly three times farther away than the moon.

Amateur and professional astronomers are preparing to watch the flyby, which will be most visible between 8 p.m. EST Monday and 1 a.m. EST Tuesday (0100 to 0600 GMT Tuesday) from the Americas, Europe and Africa.

A small telescope or binoculars will be needed to see the asteroid, which is known as 2004 BL86.

"While it poses no threat to Earth for the foreseeable future, it's a relatively close approach by a relatively large asteroid, so it provides us a unique opportunity to observe and learn more," astronomer Don Yeomans, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said in a statement.

The asteroid, which orbits the sun every 1.84 years, was discovered 11 years ago by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research, or LINEAR, telescope in New Mexico.

Scientists plan to map the asteroid's surface with radar during the flyby in hopes of learning more about its size, shape, rate of rotation and other features.

"At present, we know almost nothing about this asteroid, so there are bound to be surprises," astronomer Lance Benner with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told SpaceWeather.com.

Asteroid 2004 BL86 will be the largest asteroid to pass this close to Earth until asteroid 1999 AN10 flies by in 2027, NASA said.

NASA currently tracks more than 11,000 asteroids in orbits that pass relatively close to Earth. The U.S. space agency says it has found more than 95 percent of the largest asteroids, those with diameters 0.65 miles or larger, with orbits that take them relatively close to Earth.

An object of that size hit the planet about 65 million years ago in what is now Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, triggering a global climate change that is believed to be responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life on Earth.

Two years ago, a relatively a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,500 people injured by flying glass and debris. That same day, an unrelated asteroid passed just 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.

Websites planning live coverage of Monday night's flyby include NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (sservi.nasa.gov), Slooh.com and The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: 'Blood moon' rises

WASHINGTON - Stargazers in the Americas and Asia were treated to a lunar eclipse Wednesday, a celestial show that bathed the moon in red to create a "blood moon."

During the total lunar eclipse, which lasted several hours, the Earth passed between the sun and the moon.

The moon reflected sunlight scattered in the Earth's atmosphere and took on a red hue.

The early phase of the eclipse began at 0800 GMT, or 4:00 am, on the east coast of the United States, and will continue until sunrise.

In Hong Kong, the eclipse started shortly after moonrise at 1000 GMT or 6:00 pm local time, with the total eclipse phase emerging half an hour later and lasting for around an hour before moving to a partial eclipse.

Free viewing locations were set up on a harborside promenade by the Hong Kong Space Museum for the public to observe the various phases on astronomy telescopes.

In Tokyo's Roppongi fashion and entertainment district, enthusiasts were planning to perform yoga exercises under the blood moon. Many others had climbed atop the city's skyscrapers to view the sky.

On Australia's east coast, a live video feed set up by the Sydney Observatory was pointing to cloud cover less than an hour ahead of the moon's move into Earth's shadow.

In New Zealand, the moon will be close to its highest point in the sky, according to Auckland's Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, holding out hope of a view of the spectacle unobstructed by buildings.

Sky watchers are also able to see the phenomenon live via NASA's robotic telescope service, Slooh.

NASA's lunar experts answered questions ahead of the celestial event via live web chat from 0700 GMT.

"NASA moon experts will be up all night on October 8 to answer your questions," the space agency said.

The eclipse is the second of four total lunar eclipses, starting with a first "blood moon" on April 15, in a series astronomers call a tetrad.

The next two total lunar eclipses will be on April 4 and September 28 of next year.

The last time a tetrad took place was in 2003-2004, with the next predicted for 2032-2033. In total, the 21st century will see eight tetrads.

Amateur astronomists in Africa or Europe are out of luck, NASA said, as the event will not be visible in those regions.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com