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Perseid Meteor Shower To Be Hampered By Full Moon
An anonymous reader writes "The annual Perseid meteor shower, which is caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle and has been observed for about 2000 years, will be hampered this year by the full moon. The full moon falls on August 13, and is also called 'Grain Moon' or 'Green Corn Moon.' During this time, the moon rises about the same time the sun sets, and sets at about the same time the sun rises. This will create difficulty in viewing the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on the night of Friday and into the early morning of Aug. 13."
The shower won't be hampered! Viewing it will.
ok first, that's not a rock, its a ball of ice. Small difference, but notable if we're talking extinction events.
second, recalculations have been done to show it will only pass close by, not strike us. In any case, we'll all be dead then so it's of little consequence. Let our great-great-great grandchildren worry about it.
From the wiki...
"He found the comet was most likely observed by the Chinese in 69 BC and AD 188, which was quickly confirmed by Brian G. Marsden.[8] This information and subsequent observations have led to recalculation of its orbit, which indicates the comet's orbit is very stable, and that there is absolutely no threat over the next two thousand years."
I know it's fun to spread FUD, but come on.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
Damn! That sure sounds like it would be a 'blast' to see. Oh well, who gives a flying fuck, we'll all be long dead by then.
And don't start with the "Will somebody please think of the children" crap. Kids are smart, they'll figure out what to do.
Get an FM broadcast radio with an external aerial socket, and a Yagi antenna such as you would use for fringe area reception. Aim it more or less towards the radiant of the meteor shower, and up at about a 30-40 degree angle. Now tune to a station well out of range, in roughly the direction you're pointing.
When a meteor burns up in the atmosphere it will leave a trail of ionised particles, which will reflect radio waves. This is called "meteor scatter", and will show up as little "pings" of signal from the distant station that pop up out of the noise for a few seconds.
Listen carefully, and make a note of the times of the pings so you can plot how frequently they occur. Congratulations, you're doing science.
The Moon obstructing your view of the Perseids? I can lend you my Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator if you promise not to destroy the Earth.
It's going to be cloudy that night here, so no worries about the moon.
Just use a masked image intensifier ( ie, don't look directly at the moon ) and watch the sky through an image intensifier.
Apart from a 40 degree FOV, you'll also see about a hundred times as many stars and meteors, even on a moonlit night.
A decent Gen2 or Gen3 image intensifier will suffice. PVS-14's aren't just for the military you know...
Though a Micro housing with a c-mount objective lens can also be modified later to fit into the eyepiece for improving your telescope too!
GrpA
Enjoy science fiction? "Turing Evolved" - AI, Mecha, Androids and rail-gun battles. What more could you want?
And don't start with the "Will somebody please think of the children" crap. Kids are smart, they'll figure out what to do.
If they'll survive the economic crisis by then.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
The headline had me thinking that the moon was going to be intercepting all those meteors. Turns out they meant "Viewing of the Perseid Meteor Shower To Be Hampered By Full Moon"
If that would have been too long of a headline then perhaps "Full moon will hamper viewing of Perseid Meteor Shower" would have been better
Same number of words as original headline and much more accurate.
Who writes these things?
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
I've written "probable" not "certain", given the Perseids cross the Earth's orbit (we observe the meteor shover) then the encounter might be likely given the unstable orbits of these comets. "Absolutely no threat" is a FUD, no comet has a perfect orbit, there is lots of interaction going on from outer planets for example.
I think you forget what FUD means...
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
It's cloudy anyway...
You obviously have little conception of celestial mechanics
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
The moon is an absurd liberal myth.
sig not found
The clouds block the moonlight.
No brain, no pain.
You know, the post makes it sound like the sunset moonrise conjuction is specific to this moon. But if you think a little, you'll realize it's true for all full moons.
It's one of the things in litrature that kill me. Moon rise and moon set depend on the phase of the moon. A full moon will rise as the sun sets, and half a moon never will. It's simple geometry.
Bad editing, anonymous reader.
Why is this news?
Anyone who has any history at all of watching meteor showers knows the problem the moon can be.
Every reasonable almanac (and their online equivalents) has both full moon dates, and meteor shower peak dates.
Every full moon rises at approximately sunset. To be full, Sun - Earth - Moon have to make a 180 degree angle.
So where is the news?
****
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