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Meteor Shower

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

When Is The Quadrantids Meteor Shower?

It will be at its peak in Hudson on Jan. 3. If there are clouds that night, you can watch a Ustream on NASA.com.

If you blink you might miss the Quadrantids Meteor Shower. It peaks in the hours right before dawn on Jan. 3, with a maximum number of meteors per hour of about 80. The Quadrantids come from an asteroid called 2003 EH1, just as the Geminids did in early December. Meteor showers usually are named based on the constellations where they originate. Quadrans Muralis (mural quadrant) between Bootes and Draco. The meteor shower is expected to "last only a few hours," according to NASA.com. That means you should look for it in the the night of Jan. 2-3, not the night of Jan. 3-4. The moon will set after midnight, so the best time to view the meteors will be between then and sunrise at about 7:50 a.m.  If there is cloud cover in Hudson on that …

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Spectacular Geminid Meteor Shower 2012: When to Watch This Week

EarthSky.org is saying that because there will be no moon, 2012 will be a great year to see this meteor shower.

The final major meteor shower of the year, the Geminid meteor shower 2012, will peak overnight on Thursday, Dec. 13 into Friday morning and if you are willing to stay up late you should be able to see a great show.  NASA reports that the Geminids is a relatively young meteor shower, with the first sightings occurring in the 1830s with rates of about 20 per hour. Over time the rate of visible meteors has increased and now viewers can expect to see 80 and 120 meteors per hour at its peak. Earthsky.org reports viewers can begin to watch the Geminids starting at 9 or 10 p.m. on Thursday. The peak will likely be between 1 to 3 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14. That’s when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world. "With …

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