Comments on: Finding the Orionids Tonight http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/ Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:02:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Orionids! - Asymptotia http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-84861 Orionids! - Asymptotia Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:13:24 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-84861 [...] Don’t forget the Orionids over the next night or two (peaking late tonight, the wee hours of Sunday morning). As the name implies, look for them coming from Orion, although even if you don’t know exactly where that is, you’ll see them almost anywhere you look in the sky if you’ve enough dark. Recall that Orion has those three bright equally spaced stars in a line, making up his belt. I spoke about this, and gave more directions about the Orionids in a post last year. [...] [...] Don’t forget the Orionids over the next night or two (peaking late tonight, the wee hours of Sunday morning). As the name implies, look for them coming from Orion, although even if you don’t know exactly where that is, you’ll see them almost anywhere you look in the sky if you’ve enough dark. Recall that Orion has those three bright equally spaced stars in a line, making up his belt. I spoke about this, and gave more directions about the Orionids in a post last year. [...]

]]> By: The Lion’s Share - Asymptotia http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-4918 The Lion’s Share - Asymptotia Sat, 18 Nov 2006 02:46:06 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-4918 [...] Remember the Orionids? Well, it is the turn of the Leonids, this Saturday and Sunday (although those are just the peak days). These comets are the result of us passing through the debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle. The peak will be on the 19th November…. Viewing and other information here (Armagh Observatory), here (a NASA site), and here, from Gary W. Kronk’s site (as is the diagram below). Here’s a nice Space.com article by Joe Rao. [...] [...] Remember the Orionids? Well, it is the turn of the Leonids, this Saturday and Sunday (although those are just the peak days). These comets are the result of us passing through the debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle. The peak will be on the 19th November…. Viewing and other information here (Armagh Observatory), here (a NASA site), and here, from Gary W. Kronk’s site (as is the diagram below). Here’s a nice Space.com article by Joe Rao. [...]

]]> By: donna http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2552 donna Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:12:18 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2552 One of my faves, the other being Scorpius, being a Scorpio. Nice they are in the same area, just different times of year. ;^) And I *did* spot some meteors the other night! Just happened to wake up in the middle of the night and felt like getting in the spa, then saw lovely meteors. Very cool.... One of my faves, the other being Scorpius, being a Scorpio. Nice they are in the same area, just different times of year. ;^)

And I *did* spot some meteors the other night! Just happened to wake up in the middle of the night and felt like getting in the spa, then saw lovely meteors. Very cool….

]]> By: Yvette http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2502 Yvette Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:42:37 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2502 Clifford, thanks for making the universe make sense a little bit more. :) I'm on fall break right now in rural New Hampshire and was stargazing with my scope Saturday night, which was forever interrupted by brightly streaking meteors which left trails in the sky. Dark skies tend to let more of these show so it wasn't completely unusual but I was wondering if some shower was going on, and I forgot the Orionids I suppose... it's always quite nice when something like an unexpected meteor shower comes and surprises you though! Clifford, thanks for making the universe make sense a little bit more. :) I’m on fall break right now in rural New Hampshire and was stargazing with my scope Saturday night, which was forever interrupted by brightly streaking meteors which left trails in the sky. Dark skies tend to let more of these show so it wasn’t completely unusual but I was wondering if some shower was going on, and I forgot the Orionids I suppose… it’s always quite nice when something like an unexpected meteor shower comes and surprises you though!

]]> By: Clifford http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2491 Clifford Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:43:37 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2491 Wow ! That sounds wonderful. No I have not been there. I hope to do so one day. Indeed, Astronomy down there is wonderful, and the peope in the region are indeed taking advantage of that resource. Best, -cvj Wow ! That sounds wonderful. No I have not been there. I hope to do so one day. Indeed, Astronomy down there is wonderful, and the peope in the region are indeed taking advantage of that resource.

Best,

-cvj

]]> By: Bee http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2490 Bee Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:31:14 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2490 Hi Clifford :-) have you ever been in Namibia? One of the clearest night sky I've ever seen (that's where the <a href="http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/3hess.htm" rel="nofollow">HESS-telescope</a> is). I was lucky to be there for a total lunar eclipse (in 2001 or so). It was very impressive, you could see the whole Milky Way incl. the Magellan clouds, etc. Wow! Best, B. Hi Clifford :-)

have you ever been in Namibia? One of the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen (that’s where the HESS-telescope is). I was lucky to be there for a total lunar eclipse (in 2001 or so). It was very impressive, you could see the whole Milky Way incl. the Magellan clouds, etc. Wow! Best,

B.

]]> By: Clifford http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2447 Clifford Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:05:47 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2447 Bee! Exactly the same thing hit me when I went to south Africa for the first time... Cassiopeia -which I also think of as a big W-is indeed one of my favourite things to "root" me when I am south of the Equator! Best, -cvj Bee! Exactly the same thing hit me when I went to south Africa for the first time… Cassiopeia -which I also think of as a big W-is indeed one of my favourite things to “root” me when I am south of the Equator!

Best,

-cvj

]]> By: Bee http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2443 Bee Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:29:40 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2443 Hi Clifford, Hi Dissonant, Indeed, I also had the three stars in a line as my fixed point to remind me of my position in the universe :-) And how confused I was when I was in South Africa the first time, and all the stars were in unfamiliar places and angles! Instead of the Orion, what immediately caught my eye was a large W, which I learned is <a href="http://space.about.com/od/backyardscience/ss/15minutenitesky_7.htm" rel="nofollow">Cassiopeia</a>. Best, B. Hi Clifford, Hi Dissonant,

Indeed, I also had the three stars in a line as my fixed point to remind me of my position in the universe :-) And how confused I was when I was in South Africa the first time, and all the stars were in unfamiliar places and angles! Instead of the Orion, what immediately caught my eye was a large W, which I learned is Cassiopeia.
Best,

B.

]]> By: Amara http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2436 Amara Sun, 22 Oct 2006 15:01:08 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2436 I like that part of the sky because the Orion Nebula (M42) can represent well the birth of stars and the Crab Nebula (M1) can represent well the death of stars. I prepared a <a href="http://www.amara.com/astro100/TheCrab&OrionNebulas.pdf" rel="nofollow">handout</a> for my Astro 100 students a couple of years ago that described these facets along with a star chart for the students' time and location, in order to encourage them to look UP! Meteor showers are another rich topic. As a 'dusty scientist', I am biased and could write pages but I'll mostly point to Wikipedia's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_showers" rel="nofollow">Meteor showers</a> entry and to my (always in progress) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust" rel="nofollow">Cosmic dust</a> entry. With meteor showers, we are seeing a snapshot of _dust_in one of its most recycled states: from a molecular cloud into our solar nebula which was subsequently trapped inside a long-period comet (Halley) and further sloughed off by solar sublimation and other processes into a comet tail and then into the Orionids meteor trail that has become part of the hetereogenous zodiacal dust cloud that surrounds our present Solar System. This particular meteor stream is one of two meteor streams (the other is eta Aquarids) of the dusty debris left by comet Halley in one of its previous perihelion passes. I like that part of the sky because the Orion Nebula (M42) can represent well the birth of stars and the Crab Nebula (M1) can represent well the death of stars. I prepared a handout for my Astro 100 students a couple of years ago that described these facets along with a star chart for the students’ time and location, in order to encourage them to look UP!

Meteor showers are another rich topic. As a ‘dusty scientist’, I am biased and could write pages but I’ll mostly point to Wikipedia’s Meteor showers entry and to my (always in progress) Cosmic dust entry. With meteor showers, we are seeing a snapshot of _dust_in one of its most recycled states: from a molecular cloud into our solar nebula which was subsequently trapped inside a long-period comet (Halley) and further sloughed off by solar sublimation and other processes into a comet tail and then into the Orionids meteor trail that has become part of the hetereogenous zodiacal dust cloud that surrounds our present Solar System. This particular meteor stream is one of two meteor streams (the other is eta Aquarids) of the dusty debris left by comet Halley in one of its previous perihelion passes.

]]> By: Dissonant http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2409 Dissonant Sun, 22 Oct 2006 05:40:08 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2006/10/21/finding-the-orionids-tonight/#comment-2409 We seem to have the same favourite constellation. Maybe simply because it's so big and easily spotted for a child looking up in the winter sky. With time I also picked up some of the associated mythology, and learned that Orion is the Warrior, with the three stars making up his belt. So basically this is the Kick-Ass Constellation. What's not to like? Here's a piece of good news for you: while IE6 keeps eating your margins, IE7 renders your blog correctly. Apparently MS made an effort to improve its rendering engines' standard compliance. So now all you have to do is wait for the ~90% or so IE users to upgrade. :) Too bad that anyone using Windows 2000 or older can't. :( But maybe they'll just switch to Firefox instead. We seem to have the same favourite constellation. Maybe simply because it’s so big and easily spotted for a child looking up in the winter sky. With time I also picked up some of the associated mythology, and learned that Orion is the Warrior, with the three stars making up his belt. So basically this is the Kick-Ass Constellation. What’s not to like?

Here’s a piece of good news for you: while IE6 keeps eating your margins, IE7 renders your blog correctly. Apparently MS made an effort to improve its rendering engines’ standard compliance. So now all you have to do is wait for the ~90% or so IE users to upgrade. :) Too bad that anyone using Windows 2000 or older can’t. :( But maybe they’ll just switch to Firefox instead.

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