Beth Ridgeway – Watch the Skies

It’s an Asteroid, it’s a Comet, it’s the Geminids Meteor Shower!

By Serena Whitfield

The Geminids meteor shower is back for its annual December show of beautiful bright and fast meteors. The Geminids, which will peak on the night between Dec 13–14 in 2024, is considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers.

An outdoor black and white camera shows a multitude of streaks of white light from more than 100 meteors in 2014. — Over 100 meteors are recorded in this composite image taken during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower in 2014. Credit: Jacobs Space Exploration Group/ESSCA

Where Did the Geminids Originate and What Makes it Different?

The debris causing the Geminids originated from an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. After astronomers discovered Phaethon in 1983, they realized the asteroid’s orbit matched that of the Geminid meteors. This pointed to Phaethon as the source of the annual meteor shower. Even though most meteor showers originate from comets, Phaethon was classified as a near Earth asteroid and not a comet.

On occasion this classification has been challenged, as Phaethon’s orbit is similar to that of a comet and NASA’s STEREO spacecraft in 2009 and 2012 detected a faint tail and rapid brightening around the asteroid’s closest approach to the Sun. As a consequence, some astronomers refer to Phaethon as a ‘rock-comet’, though the term ‘active asteroid’ may be better, as similar objects have been discovered in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The Moon Edges Out Dim Meteors

The Geminids meteor shower has competition this year, from a bright waxing gibbous moon that will also light up the night sky. The waxing gibbous phase is when the Moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a full Moon. Usually during the Geminids, you can often catch 50 or more meteors per hour, but with the moonlit skies in 2024, you might only catch the brightest meteors, reducing rates down to about 15 meteors per hour. This is still better than other annual showers like the Lyrids, but it will be a poor showing compared to that of the Geminids under a moonless sky. It is lucky that the Geminids are rich in bright meteors or the numbers this year would be even lower.

Rocks on the Ground?

Bill Cooke, lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, shares another detail that makes this meteor shower different.

“The Geminids are one of only two meteor showers that can theoretically cause meteorites on the ground,” Cooke said. “The other is the Taurids.”

Most Geminids burn up 30-40 miles above your head, but there is a very, very small chance that one may be big enough to produce a brilliant fireball and leave small meteorites on the ground. So far we haven’t found a Geminid meteorite, but there’s always hope.

Viewing Tips

“For this year’s Geminids, the bright Moon will light up the sky and greatly reduce the number of visible meteors,” Cooke said. “The most important thing to do, after finding the darkest place you can, is to look away from the Moon.”

Other viewing tips:

The Geminids are best seen after 9 PM and before dawn. Best rates are around 2 AM.
Be mindful that meteors often come in spurts.
Special equipment? None needed! Maybe bring a blanket to stay warm.

Get more December skywatching tips from NASA.

Serena Whitfield is an intern supporting the Marshall Office of Communications.

For media inquiries contact:
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

You “Woodn’t” Want to Miss the Beaver Moon, Last Supermoon of 2024

By Serena Whitfield

Skywatchers can see the next full Moon, the Beaver Moon, on Nov. 15, starting at 4:29 p.m. EST. This Moon is extra special as it’s the final Supermoon of 2024, meaning the Moon will appear bigger and brighter than usual.

A supermoon rises over Huntsville, Alabama, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Aug. 19, 2024. Supermoons are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year because the Moon is within 90% of its closest point to Earth. (NASA/Michael DeMocker)

The term “supermoon” was coined in 1979 and occurs when a full Moon coincides with its closest approach to Earth. The Moon doesn’t orbit in a perfect circle. Instead, the Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, an oval that brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it travels around.

The farthest point in this ellipse, called the apogee, is about 253,000 miles from Earth on average. Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles from Earth. Full moons can occur at any point along the Moon’s elliptical path, but when a full moon occurs at or near the perigee, it looks slightly larger and brighter than the “average” full moon – which inspires the term “supermoon.”

This graphic shows the difference in the appearance of the Moon’s size in its furthest and closest distances to Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Supermoons are not rare and occur as a regular part of the Moon’s orbit of Earth according to NASA research scientist Dennis Gallagher.

“The Moon’s orbit takes it around the Earth about once every 27 and one-third days,” said Gallagher. “That time of closest approach to Earth, or perigee, happens three or four times each year due to the motions of Earth and the Moon around the Sun.”

Why Is It Called the Beaver Moon?

Beaver Moon is one of the nicknames for the November full Moon. The term has origins from a variety of traditions and folklore in Native American and European culture. One explanation – November is when beavers prepare for the winter by fortifying dams and stocking their food supply. November was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts to use for warmer clothing.

Beavers and Space, A Connection you “Woodn’t” Expect

Did you know Beavers have another space-related connection? Not only is November’s full Moon named in the industrious animal’s honor, but NASA also helps measures the impacts of beaver rewilding.

A beaver swims in the water with its head poking up. — This graphic shows the difference in the appearance of the Moon’s size in its furthest and closest distances to Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA Applied Sciences’ Ecological Conservation Program helps fund a project, as a part of its Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences grants, known as the Beaver Rewilding Project in Idaho.

The project uses NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing missions, like Landsat and Sentinel, to collect data across large areas of the world and pass over the same areas regularly across seasons. From above the clouds, NASA can track the landscape’s transformation after beavers arrive, helping researchers at Boise State University and Utah State University understand the pace and nuance of beaver impacts without having to send researchers into remote areas.

A Landsat 9 map that is green and brown. — This natural-color Landsat 9 satellite image shows an area in south central Idaho that includes Baugh Creek, Little Wood River, and Baugh Creek Road. The dense green patch indicates more vegetation due to the reintroduction of beavers, while the narrow green patch has limited beaver activity. (NASA Earth Observatory; NASA/USGS Landsat)

The data showed that when beavers build dams across streams, they naturally disperse and hold water on the land longer, which supports more plants and creates habitats like ponds and meadows. The dams also create more fresh drinking water and better grazing land for cattle, and they make the landscape more resilient to fire and drought.

Read more about NASA’s role in beaver rewilding.

Enjoy 2024’s last supermoon knowing beavers and space have more in common than you may think!

For media inquiries contact:
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Orionids Meteor Showers May Offer Treat for Stargazers

By Wayne Smith

From a total solar eclipse in April to a partial lunar eclipse of September’s Harvest Moon, 2024 has been sweet for skywatchers – professionals and amateurs alike. And just in time for Halloween, stargazers can anticipate another treat in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 20 and 21 thanks to the Orionids Meteor Showers. That is unless the Moon or cloudy skies don’t provide too many tricks.

The Orionids, which peak during mid-October each year, are considered to be one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year. Orionid meteors are known for their brightness and for their speed. Of course, the ability to see them will depend on clear evening skies. And a bright waning gibbous Moon – where it moves between full and last quarter phases – will outshine fainter meteors, greatly reducing the number of meteors visible to skywatchers.

A bright meteor streaks across a dark sky in front of a crescent Moon. — Orionid meteors appear every year when Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet. Credit: NASA/JPL

Still, a few Orionids should hopefully be viewable in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during the hours after midnight through before dawn on the mornings of Sunday, Oct. 20, and Monday, Oct. 21.

The Orionids are also framed by some of the brightest stars in the night sky, which lend a spectacular backdrop for these showy meteors.

“Find an area well away from the city or street lights,” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Come prepared with a blanket. Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors.”

Aside from potentially producing spectacular fireballs, the Orionids reflect quite a legacy. Their parent comet is the most famous one of them all – Halley’s Comet. Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds ice and rocky dust into space. These dust grains eventually become the Orionids in October and the Eta Aquarids in May if they collide with Earth’s atmosphere.

Comet Halley takes about 76 years to orbit the Sun once. The last time comet Halley was seen by casual observers was in 1986 and it will not enter the inner solar system again until 2061. The comet is named for Edmond Halley, who discovered in 1705 that three previous comets seemed to return every 76 years or so and suggested that these sightings were in fact all the same comet. The comet returned as he predicted, and so it was named in Halley’s honor.

So, while it’ll take another 37 years to see Halley’s Comet, the Orionids offer a glimpse of its past.

The Orionids start winding down what has been an eventful calendar year for skywatching events. There was the total solar eclipse across most of North America on April 8 – the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth – creating a total solar eclipse lasting 4 minutes and 12 seconds. The Perseids brought nightsky fireworks in August. And the partial lunar eclipse of a full supermoon – the Harvest Moon – welcomed fall and provided some spectacular images. Other skywatching events for 2024 include the Geminid and Ursid meteor showers in December.

Ancient Oort Cloud Comet to Make First Documented Pass By Earth in Mid-October

An ancient celestial traveler will make its first close pass by Earth in mid-October. Mark those calendars – because it might not be back.

The Oort Cloud comet, called C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, was discovered in 2023, approaching the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in documented human history. It was identified by observers at China’s Tsuchinshan – or “Purple Mountain” – Observatory and an ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in South Africa. The comet was officially named in honor of both observatories.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this timelapse photo of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from the International Space Station as it orbited 272 miles above the South Pacific Ocean southeast of New Zealand just before sunrise on Sept. 28, 2024. At the time, the comet was about 44 million miles away from Earth. (NASA/Matthew Dominick)

The comet successfully made its closest transit past the Sun on Sept. 27. Scientists surmised it might well break up during that pass, its volatile and icy composition unable to withstand the intense heat of our parent star, but it survived more or less intact – and is now on track to come within approximately 44 million miles of Earth on Oct. 12.

“Comets are more fragile than people may realize, thanks to the effects of passing close to the Sun on their internal water ice and volatiles such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide,” said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Comet Ison, for example, reached the inner solar system in 2013, but failed to survive the Sun’s intense heat and gravity during perihelion in 2013.”

A bright green blur streaks across the black sky. — Comets traveling through the inner solar system aren’t uncommon, but many never survive a close pass by the Sun. Icy comet ISON, photographed here on Nov. 19, 2013, reached solar perihelion later that month – but couldn’t endure the punishing heat and gravity so close to Earth’s parent star and disintegrated. (NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery)

Though Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be ideally positioned to view from the Southern Hemisphere, spotters above the equator should have a good chance as well. Peak visibility will occur Oct. 9-10, once the half-moon begins to move away from the comet.

Choose a dark vantage point just after full nightfall, Cooke recommended. Looking to the southwest, roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, identify the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio. Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible between them. By Oct. 14, the comet may remain visible at the midway point between the bright star Arcturus and the planet Venus.

“And savor the view,” Cooke advised – because by early November, the comet will be lost to the unaided eye, perhaps gone forever.

Comet light, comet bright

It’s highly unlikely Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be visible in daylight hours, except perhaps at twilight, Cooke said. In the past 300 years of astronomical observation, only nine previous comets have been bright enough to spot during the day. The last were Comet West in 1976 and, under ideal conditions, Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.

The brightness of comets is measured on the same scale we use for stars, one that has been in use since roughly 150 B.C., when it was devised by the ancient scholar Hipparchus and refined by the astronomer Ptolemy. Stellar magnitude is measured on a logarithmic scale, which makes a magnitude 1 star exactly 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star. The lower the number the brighter the object, making it more likely to be clearly seen, whether by telescope or the naked eye.

“Typically, a comet would have to reach a magnitude of –6 to –10 to be seen in daylight,” Cooke said. “That’s extremely rare.”

At peak visibility in the northern hemisphere, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’s brightness is estimated at between 2 and 4. In comparison, the brightest visible star in the night sky, Sirius, has a magnitude of –1.46. At its brightest, solar reflection from Venus is a magnitude of –4. The International Space Station sometimes achieves a relative brightness of –6.

Comets are often hard to predict because they’re extended objects, Cooke noted, with their brightness spread out and often dimmer than their magnitude suggests. At the same time, they may benefit from a phenomenon called “forward scattering,” which causes sunlight to bounce more intensely off all the gas and debris in the comet’s tail and its coma – the glowing nebula that develops around it during close stellar orbit – and causing a more intense brightening effect for observers.

“If there is a lot of forward scattering, the comet could be as bright as magnitude –1,” Cooke said. That could make it “visible to the unaided eye or truly spectacular with binoculars or a small telescope.”

What will become of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS? Cooke said it could be flung out of the solar system – like a stone from a sling – due to the gravitational influence of other worlds and a “jetting” effect caused by the comet’s offgassing during its solar transit.

But the hardy traveler likely still has miles to go yet. “I learned a long time ago not to gamble on comets,” Cooke said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Learn more about comets here.

Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Editor’s Note: The orbits of comets are continuously revised as new observational data becomes available. An earlier version of this article cited a period of 80,000 years for C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is no longer accurate based on newly available data. As of Oct. 14, the comet’s path may take it out of the solar system altogether.

Smith, an Aeyon employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.

Harvest Moon Will Bring Partial Lunar Eclipse on Sept. 17

By Wayne Smith

Ahh, fall is almost upon us. Autumn officially begins Sept. 23 and for many, it will mean cooler temperatures – a welcome reprieve from the summer heat.

Fall also brings football, pumpkins, and a Harvest Moon to watch for in the sky. Save the date of Tuesday, Sept. 17. With a clear sky, people in the Northern Hemisphere will see a partial lunar eclipse, making the full supermoon on Sept. 17 extra super.

A slight shadow is cast at the top right corner of a full Moon set against a cloudy night sky. — When only a part of the moon enters Earth’s shadow, the event is called a partial lunar eclipse. Image Credit: Brad Riza

In a partial lunar eclipse, the umbra – the shadow’s darkest part – “takes a bite out” of just a fraction of the Moon. The dark bite grows larger, and then recedes, never reaching the totality phase. In a total lunar eclipse, by comparison, the Earth’s full shadow falls across the face of the Moon. Learn more information about lunar eclipses here.

“From Huntsville, the penumbral phase will begin around 7:41 p.m., and people should start noticing a ‘reddish bite’ being taken out of the top part of the Moon around 9:12 p.m.,” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The maximum eclipse will be at 9:44 p.m., and the partial phase will be over at 10:15 p.m.. The penumbral phase will end about an hour and a half later, at 11:47 p.m..”

The September full Moon is often called the Harvest Moon due to its association with autumn harvests in the Northern Hemisphere. So, bring on fall and the pumpkin spice. As Neil Young sang in his song “Harvest Moon” – “Let’s go out and feel the night.” And perhaps take a sweater. And skywatchers, grab your cameras!

Times will vary by location in the U.S., with only Alaska and Hawaii missing out on the event.

Visit here for more September skywatching tips from NASA.

Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

NASA to host International Observe the Moon Night 2024

Everyone everywhere is invited to join fellow sky-watchers Saturday, Sept. 14, for International Observe the Moon Night – a worldwide public event encouraging observation, appreciation, and understanding of the Moon and its connection to NASA exploration and discovery.

A rectangle poster that says International Observe the Moon Night for 2024. A silhouette of people with telescopes are against a blue pink sky with a large moon in the background.

This celebration of the Moon has been held annually since 2010, and this year NASA’s Planetary Missions Program Office will host an event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama.

This free event will be held Sept. 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. CDT at the Davidson Center at the USSRC. Attractions will include hands-on STEM activities, telescope viewing from the Von Braun Astronomical Society, a live DJ, face painting, a photo booth, a science trivia show, and much more.

Headline entertainment will be provided by The Science Wizard, David Hagerman. The Science Wizard has appeared on national television and will perform two different science-based stage shows at the event. Learn more about what to expect on the Facebook event page.

It’s the perfect time to universally celebrate the Moon as excitement grows about NASA returning to our nearest celestial neighbor with the Artemis missions. Artemis will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore areas of the lunar surface that have never been discovered before.

Learn more and find other events here. Happy International Observe the Moon Night!

By Daniel Horton

Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Stargazers Won’t See Ghosts but Supergiant Star for Spooky Season

Stargazers seeking familiar points of interest in the night sky are likely to point out Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star sometimes identified as “the shoulder of Orion.” Even some 400-600 light-years distant, it’s typically one of the brightest stars visible in the night sky, and the brightest of all in the infrared spectrum.

Fewer space enthusiasts may know that Betelgeuse’s nickname may have been mistranslated from the Arabic phrase Ibṭ al-Jauzā’ in the 13th century. Depending on the nuances of pronunciation, Betelgeuse actually might be “the armpit of Orion.”

An illustration showing Betegeuse as part of the Orion constellation. — Betelgeuse is part of the Orion constellation. Credit: NASA

What may come as a surprise is that the star that inspired the naming of a ghostly movie menace is doing some hurtling of its own. Betelgeuse is actually a runaway star in the process of bidding a big galactic adios to its birthplace – the hot star association that includes Orion’s Belt – and speeding away at approximately 18.6 miles per second.

That’s an awesome prospect, said Dr. Debra Wallace, Marshall’s Deputy Branch Chief of Astrophysics. Betelgeuse is a pulsating star with an uncertain distance of roughly 548 light-years and changing luminosity. We estimate its radius is approximately 724 times larger than our Sun. If it sat at the center of our solar system, it would swallow the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Its bow shock – the “wave” generated by its passage through the interstellar medium – is roughly four light-years across.

What cosmic force caused Betelgeuse to go on the interstellar lam from its point of origin?

“Typically, stars don’t become runaways without receiving a big kick,” Wallace said. “What’s most likely is that the competing gravity of other nearby stars ejected it outward or something else blew up in its proximity. There was a change in the dynamic interactions of the star grouping, and Betelgeuse was sent packing.”

Betel-BOOM!

Betelgeuse is only 10 million years old, but already in the twilight of its life. Given that our own small star is nearly 5 billion years, roughly halfway through its own estimated lifespan, why is Betelgeuse expected to be here today and gone tomorrow – give or take 100,000 years?

“Think about setting a fire in your back yard,” Wallace said. “The more fuel you throw on it, the faster and hotter it burns. It’s visually impressive – but gone in a flash.”

That’s because stars ignite a powerful chain of nuclear fusion reactions to counter their own intense gravity, which is always striving to collapse the star in on itself. For supergiants such as Betelgeuse, that delicate balance requires it to burn extremely hot and bright – but that also means it consumes its fuel supply far faster than our own modest young star.

Wallace said Betelgeuse likely started its life at least 20 times the mass of Earth’s Sun. It’s been visible to us for millennia. Ancient Chinese astronomers would have identified it as a yellow star which has since evolved to the right, per the Hertzsprung-Russell stellar evolution diagram and a 2022 study of the star’s color evolution. When the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy saw Betelgeuse some 300 years after the earliest Chinese observations, it had gone orange. Today, the star has taken on a fierce red color that makes it easy to find in the night sky.

“Betelgeuse likely will burn for another 100,000 years or so, depending on its mass loss rate, then could end up a blue supergiant – like Rigel, the star that serves as Orion’s right knee – before it explodes,” Wallace said. That supernova event, she noted, will release as much energy in a split-second as our Sun generates in its entire lifetime, though Betelgeuse is far too distant to have any effect on our solar system.

This four-panel illustration reveals how the southern region of the red supergiant Betelgeuse suddenly may have become fainter for several months in late 2019 and early 2020. In the first two panels, as seen in ultraviolet light by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a bright, hot blob of plasma is ejected from a convection cell on the star's surface. In panel three, the expelled gas rapidly expands outward, cooling to form an enormous cloud of obscuring dust grains. The final panel reveals the huge dust cloud blocking the light from a quarter of Betelgeuse's surface, as seen from Earth. — This four-panel illustration reveals how the southern region of the red supergiant Betelgeuse suddenly may have become fainter for several months in late 2019 and early 2020. In the first two panels, as seen in ultraviolet light by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a bright, hot blob of plasma is ejected from a convection cell on the star’s surface. In panel three, the expelled gas rapidly expands outward, cooling to form an enormous cloud of obscuring dust grains. The final panel reveals the huge dust cloud blocking the light from a quarter of Betelgeuse’s surface, as seen from Earth.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and E. Wheatley (STScI)

Which isn’t to say the red supergiant doesn’t have any surprises left. In October 2019, Betelgeuse abruptly darkened, as much as half of its luminosity draining away in an event astronomers dubbed “the Great Dimming.”

Researchers began speculating about an early supernova, but by early 2020, Betelgeuse had brightened once more. Studies using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope suggested a slightly less explosive cause. An upwelling of a large convection cell on Betelgeuse – perhaps in honor of its flatulent namesake – had expelled a titanic outburst of superhot plasma, yielding a dust cloud that dramatically blocked the star’s light for months.

“We’re still figuring out the mechanisms which cause massive star evolution, and the advent of new telescopes has been tremendously helpful,” Wallace said. “We’ve only realized in the last 20 or 30 years that most massive stars are products of binary evolution.”

Was Betelgeuse part of a binary star system, and did its demise – or a cataclysmic split – turn it into a runaway? Is it possible it’s still there, having merged with or still locked in a fatal dance with its fugitive partner? New studies suggest those may be possibilities, though Wallace notes that further intensive study is needed.

Will Betelgeuse ultimately go out with a bang or a whimper? Time will tell. But don’t write off the red giant just yet.

Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere seeking to spot Betelgeuse should scan the southwestern sky. Those south of the equator should look in the northwestern sky. Find a line of three bright stars clustered together, representing Orion’s belt. Two brighter stars just to the north mark Orion’s shoulders; the very bright left one is Betelgeuse.

Learn more about Betelgeuse here.

Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Shooting Stars: Annual Perseid Meteor Shower to Peak Aug. 11-12

By Wayne Smith

They may not attract as much attention as last month’s daylight fireball over New York City, but stargazers can still anticipate seeing some shooting stars with the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. Caused by Earth passing through trails of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the shower has become famous over the centuries because of its consistent display of celestial fireworks.

A bright meteor leaves a trail of light amongst a sky full of stars. Silhouettes of trees frame the bottom of the image. — In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

“The Perseids is the best annual meteor shower for the casual stargazer,” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Not only is the shower rich in bright meteors and fireballs – No. 1 in fact – it also peaks in mid-August when the weather is still warm and comfortable. This year, the Perseid maximum will occur on the night of Aug. 11 and pre-dawn hours of Aug. 12. You’ll start seeing meteors from the shower around 11 p.m. local time and the rates will increase until dawn. If you miss the night of the 11th, you will also be able to see quite a few on the night of the 12th between those times.”

The best way to see the Perseids is to find the darkest possible sky and visit between midnight and dawn on the morning of Aug. 12. Allow about 45 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. Lie on your back and look straight up. Avoid looking at cell phones or tablets because their bright screens ruin night vision and take your eyes off the sky.

Perseid meteors travel at the blistering speed of 132,000 mph – or 500 times faster than the fastest car in the world. At that speed, even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it collides with Earth’s atmosphere. Peak temperatures can exceed 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as they speed across the sky. The Perseids pose no danger to people on the ground as practically all burn up 60 miles above our planet.

The first Perseid captured by NASA’s All Sky Meteor Camera Network was recorded at 9:48 p.m. EDT on July 23. The meteor – about as bright as the planet Jupiter, so not quite bright enough to be considered a fireball – was caused by a piece of Comet Swift-Tuttle about 5 millimeters in diameter entering the atmosphere over the Atlantic and burning up 66 miles above St. Cloud, Florida, just south of Orlando.

A bright meteor streaks across the dark night sky, leaving a trail of white light. — NASA’s All Sky Meteor Camera Network captured its first Perseid at 9:48 p.m. EDT on July 23.

Rare Fireball in New York, New York Not Perseids

It wasn’t part of the Perseids, but a rare daylight fireball streaked across the sky over New York City at 11:15 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 16. The event gained national attention and was reported in media outlets across the U.S.

The fireball, defined as a meteor brighter than the planet Venus, is estimated to have soared over New York City before traversing a short path southwest and disintegrating about 31 miles above Mountainside, New Jersey. Cooke said the meteor was likely about 1 foot in diameter, which would have made the rock bright enough to see during the day. Seeing a meteor of this size is rarer than catching sight of the smaller particles a few millimeters in size typically seen in the night sky.

“To see one in the daytime over a populated area like New York is fairly rare,” Cooke said during an interview with ABC 7 in New York.

The Meteoroid Environments Office studies meteoroids in space so that NASA can protect our nation’s satellites, spacecraft and even astronauts aboard the International Space Station from these bits of tiny space debris.

For more skywatching highlights in April, check out Jet Propulsion Lab’s What’s Up series.

Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower Best Seen in Southern Hemisphere in Late July

Most casual skywatchers know the bright, busy Perseids meteor shower arrives in late July and peaks in mid-August. Fewer are likely to name-drop the Southern delta Aquariids, which overlap with the Perseids each summer and are typically outshone by their brighter counterparts, especially when the Moon washes out the Southern delta Aquariids.

This year, with the Southern delta Aquariids set to peak on the night of July 28, the underdog shower isn’t likely to deliver any surprises. Unless you’re below the equator, it’ll take a keen eye to spot one.

Meteors from the Perseids meteor shower streak across the night sky above Sequoia National Forest. — Perseids meteors – which coincide with the Southern Delta Aquariids at the tail end of July – streak over Sequoia National Forest in this 2023 NASA file photo. (NASA/Preston Dyches)

“The Southern delta Aquariids have a very strong presence on meteor radars which can last for weeks,” said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Sadly, for most observers in the Northern Hemisphere, they’re difficult to spot with the naked eye, requiring the darkest possible skies.”

Meteor watchers – particularly those in the southern United States and points south – will be best served to check out the night sky July 28-29 before moonrise at 2 a.m.

During peak shower activity, under ideal viewing conditions with no Moon in the sky, casual watchers may see 2-5 meteors per hour, flashing into view at speeds of 25 miles per second. A small percentage of these may leave glowing, ionized gas trails that linger visibly for a second or two after the meteor has passed. But most of the noticeable activity for the Southern delta Aquariids occurs over a couple of days around its peak, so don’t expect to see any past the end of July.

You can distinguish Southern delta Aquariids meteors from the Perseids by identifying their radiant, or the point in the sky from which a meteor appears to originate. Southern delta Aquariids appear to come from the direction of the constellation of Aquarius, hence the name. The Perseids’ radiant is in the constellation of Perseus in the northern sky.

Most astronomers agree the Southern delta Aquariids originate from Comet 96P/Machholz, which orbits the Sun every 5.3 years. Discovered by Donald Machholz in 1986, the comet’s nucleus is roughly 4 miles across – about half the size of the object suspected to have wiped out the dinosaurs. Researchers think debris causing the Southern delta Aquariid meteor shower was generated about 20,000 years ago.

Jonathan Deal / Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov / lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov

Six Planets to be Visible Before Dawn June 3

On June 3, stargazers will have an opportunity to look for six planets in Earth’s solar system. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will appear, from some dark, weather-free vantage points on Earth, to form a more-or-less straight line in the night sky – but it’ll take some optical assistance to see them all.

The alignment is a bit of an illusion, astronomers are quick to point out, given the widely varying elliptical path of each planet’s orbit around the Sun. But the uncommon arrangement could prove captivating indeed – if local weather does not interfere.

Trees are in the foreground as a sky full of stars shows the silhouette. — Astronomers and stargazers around the world should be on the lookout before dawn on June 3 for a “planetary parade,” a loose alignment of six of our neighboring worlds: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus – though the latter two will require high-powered binoculars or a telescope to spot. (NASA/Night Sky Network)

The planetary alignment is likely to be most visible 30-60 minutes before sunrise, looking east from a dark, high vantage point with minimal light pollution and an unobstructed view of the complete horizon.

“If you were somewhere out in space other than on Earth, these planets would not appear aligned at all,” said Dr. Alphonse Sterling, astrophysicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “It is not unusual to see two or three lined up, but to have six of them line up like this is uncommon.”

Mars and Saturn will be identifiable with the naked eye, and Mercury and Jupiter may also be spotted close to the horizon. To add Neptune and Uranus to the lineup, however, will require the use of a telescope or high-powered binoculars.

“You can see it basically anywhere there isn’t a ton of light pollution,” Sterling said. “You just need a clear view looking east. Jupiter and Mercury will be the last to join, rising just above the horizon. You won’t see six bright dots lined up. In the best circumstances, you can see Jupiter, Mercury and Mars and Saturn. You’ll need binoculars or a telescope for the others.”

Alignments of six planets happen infrequently, depending on the orbit and position of each planet as seen from Earth. Indeed, we may see an encore performance later this year. The same rough alignment of six planets could be visible in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 28 and again on Jan. 18, 2025.

That’s certainly more common than a full planetary alignment, in which all eight planets in our solar system would appear to fall into approximate formation on the same side of the Sun. Given all the factors involved, including the orbital plane, speed, and distance of each planet, estimates suggest it would take more than 300 billion years to happen just once.

That’s longer than the estimated lifetime of our parent star, so don’t wait up.

The planetary alignment is the latest skywatching event in a recent period rife with them. Space enthusiasts enjoyed a total solar eclipse April 8 and a rare sighting in May of the aurora borealis over parts of the continental United States – the result of an uncommonly large geomagnetic storm.