Party goers will get a special treat as they ring in the New Year on Thursday night. A somewhat rare New Year’s Eve blue moon will illuminate the night skies.
According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month, and it occurs every 2.5 years on average. However, blue moons appearing on New Year’s Eve are much more rare. The last time we had one on New Year’s Eve was way back in 1990. Since they only occur every 19 years, you won’t see another one on New Year’s Eve until 2028.
The blue moon will be visible, weather permitting, in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, and Africa. According to Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show, “If you’re in Times Square, you’ll see the full moon right above you. It’s going to be that brilliant.” Here in Dallas, the moon should be visible in the eastern sky near the constellation Gemini as we say goodbye to 2009 and ring in the New Year.
If you missed the popular Perseid meteor shower this year, don’t fret. According to experts at NASA, the best meteor shower of 2009 is about to fall over North America. In the middle of December, it may be a cold night, but the possibility of viewing up to 140 meteors per hour could be worth it. So, dress warm, make some hot cocoa, and get ready for the light show.
The Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak on Dec. 13th and 14th under ideal viewing conditions. A new Moon will keep skies dark for the display and maximum activity should occur around 12:10 a.m. EST on Dec. 14th. No telescope is necessary, just try to find a dark place with little light pollution and then start scanning the sky.
NASA says the “Geminids are pieces of debris from a strange object called 3200 Phaethon. Long thought to be an asteroid, Phaethon is now classified as an extinct comet. It is, basically, the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost its ice after too many close encounters with the sun. Earth runs into a stream of debris from 3200 Phaethon every year in mid-December, causing meteors to fly from the constellation Gemini.”
Astronomers believe the intensity is increasing every year, which means the show just keeps getting better. Mark your calendar now, and don’t miss out on the best meteor shower of the year!
Nov. 30 is your last chance to get a glimpse of the International Space Station (ISS) as it flies around the Earth this year. You don’t even need a telescope to view it. Weather permitting, it should be visible to the naked eye throughout the US and Canada. The largest man-made object in space will appear as a bright light in the sky, and is much brighter than an average satellite orbiting the planet. On a good night, the station rivals the planet Venus in brightness and can appear up to 25 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. On Monday, it won’t be quite that bright, but at a magnitude of -2.0, it will still still stand out amongst Venus and the brightest stars.
If you want to get a glimpse before it’s gone, check out SpaceWeather.com to get viewing times for your location. Simply enter your zip code and then look for ISS. SpaceWeather.com also tracks other satellites, the space shuttles, and Hubble Telescope. In fact, Atlantis flew over during the Thanksgiving holiday and was also visible to the naked eye. If you’ve never seen a space shuttle glide across the sky at night, it’s a neat sight. You can bookmark SpaceWeather.com and the next time the shuttle undocks from the ISS you can find out when (or if) it will be viewable from your location. Pretty cool, huh?
I never considered this until I read an article about it tonight. What if Earth had rings like Saturn? The unique bands circling Saturn make it one of the most beautiful and interesting planets to view. Even witnessed through a small, amateur telescope, it’s a cool sight.
Imagining what the rings would look like around around our planet is fairly easy. I don’t think it would appear much different than Saturn does today, but the interesting thing to consider is what the view would be when you are standing on the ground and looking up into the sky. What would you see? Well, a new video depicts what the rings might look like from different cities and latitudes across the world. It’s a mesmerizing sight. Check it out.
NASA is letting the public choose the name of its newest addition to the International Space Station (Node 3 and its cupola). According to the NASA website, the “name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station, and follow in the tradition set by Node 1-Unity and Node 2-Harmony.”
The cupola will be delivered to the space station in December and will offer spectacular views of Earth. Six rectangular windows and one circular window will offer a panoramic view unrivaled by any other spacecraft ever flown. The cupola will also contain a robotics workstation to allow astronauts to control the giant robotic arm of the space station. Node 3 will house many of the station’s life support systems.
The leading names are:
Earthrise
Legacy
Serenity
Venture
However, you can suggest a name if you think you have a better one. One of my favorite “write-in” names is Tranquility, but since I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, I’ve got to stick with Serenity. It’s the name of Whedon’s 2005 movie which was the continuation of a short-lived scifi series on Fox. Serenity was also the name of the cargo ship that transported the characters around the ‘verse. It’s just so fitting for the space station.
Voting is open through March 20, and the winning name will be announced in April. I’ve already placed my vote. To register yours, click here.
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