Meteor shower lights up skies over Bosnia

FOCA, Bosnia - A meteor shower lit up the skies above eastern Bosnia on Saturday night, giving star gazers a rare opportunity to see a display of shooting stars with the naked eye.

"I think that everybody should see this," said Miralem Mehic, a Bosnian from an international group of star gazers who watched the light show at the Sand Pyramids - an area of naturally occurring sand columns - near the town of Foca.

The so-called Perseids meteor shower returns to the skies every August, and are best viewed in the northern hemisphere in isolated areas where there is little light pollution.

They arise when the Earth passes through the debris of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862.

Meteors are parts of rock and dust that hit the Earth's atmosphere, heat up and glow. Most vaporise as they descend, but some explode.

"This year the moon is young and will not obstruct the vision, so we will be able to see 100 'shooting stars' an hour," Muhamed Muminovic, a member of the Sarajevo Orion astrological society, told Reuters.

source: news.abs-cbn.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

PAGASA: Meteor shower to peak January 3 and 4

Stargazers will get an early treat in 2012 with the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, which will be active from January 1 to 7.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the meteor shower will peak Jan. 3 to 4, with 40 meteors seen per hour.

"The observation of its peak activity on January 3-4 in which meteors or 'falling stars' can be seen at the rate of at least 40 meteors per hour. The shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Bootes," PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said.

Servando said the Quadrantid meteor shower hits the Earth's atmosphere at the rate of about 40 km per second.

He said the incinerated dust is believed to be particles from the debris ejected by the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH.

Meanwhile, PAGASA said Venus will be visible in January, shining brilliantly at magnitude -3.8 and will be standing at about 20 degrees above the west southwestern horizon.

"It will lie between the boundary of the constellation Capricornus, the Goat and Aquarius, the Water Bearer. The brightest planet will be observable throughout the evening sky of the month of January," Servando said.

Mars and Saturn will also be visible.

Mercury will be found low in the east-southeastern horizon until it slides down from the evening sky on January 17.

Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune will be found above the west-southwestern part of the sky and will lie among the background stars of the constellation Pisces, the Fish for Jupiter and Uranus and the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer for Neptune.

Stars and constellations

Servando said the famous equilateral triangle in the sky, the Winter Triangle, rises after sunset.

It includes Betelgeuse, the super giant red star and the prominent star of the famous constellation Orion (the Mighty Hunter), Sirius, the brightest star in the sky of the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog), and Procyon, the brightest star of the constellation Canis Minor (the Little Dog). — LBG, GMA News

source:gmanetwork.com

Saturday eclipse, meteor shower double treat for stargazers

Stargazers will have a double treat of sorts Saturday night as they are likely to see a meteor shower and a partial lunar eclipse.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the eclipse will start at 4:55 p.m. and end at 10:21 p.m.

"Lunar eclipses are safe to watch and observers need not use any kind of protective filters in the eyes. A pair of binocular will help magnify the view and will make the red coloration of the Moon brighter," it said. [See: PAGASA astrodiary]

PAGASA said the eclipse’s magnitude will be 54.2 percent and will also be visible primarily in some parts of America, Pacific Ocean, Antarctica, eastern Asia, and Australasia.

In Manila, the moon will rise at 6:28 p.m. and will set at 5:04 a.m. on June 27.

Penumbral eclipse begins at 4:55 p.m., while the partial eclipse begins at 6:16 p.m. The greatest eclipse will be at 7:38 p.m. Partial eclipse ends 9:00 PM

The penumbral eclipse ends at 10:21 p.m.

On the other hand, PAGASA said recent unseen activity makes the annual June Bootid meteor shower worth observing.

But it said that while the shower is normally active from June 26 to July 2 and peaks June 27, “little or no" activity is expected this year with the full Moon on June 26.

“The radiant is usefully accessible virtually all night, and all observing techniques can be employed," it said.

PAGASA said the shower is derived from the debris ejected by Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke. The radiant of the shower will originate from the constellation of Bootes, the Herdsman, which lies nearly overhead when darkness falls. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV