Planetary Conjunction now Geminids coming up

Astronomy : Planetary Conjunction and the Geminid Meteor shower

Many of the reports fail to say that this conjunction (Dec 8-11) is real difficult to observe in the East. The planetary conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Jupiter (see spaceweather.com) is difficult to see and it is before sunrise. I would not bother unless you look right before sunrise and have binoculars ( reports fail to say thistoo but you have to be careful with the Sun coming up). Still you might want to try. I went out to early eventhough I knew where to look and had good horizon but could not see any of them. I might try ....?

The November Leonids were a bust to most. Many did not see what was supposed to be many meteors that were to fall. However it was the weekend but cold. I was out two nights and while I did not see many, there was one -3 yellow nice fireball that made the wait worthwhile. Most others were faint but some has trains ( dusty trails that sometimes twist in the upper atmosphere winds) that persisted for usually 0.5 second.
The Geminids are usually a real good meteor shower with bright meteors that last at least 0.5 seconds and sometime have trains. I have had better luck with this shower compared to the famous Perseids in August.

But this time it is in week time. However Gemini rise in the evening instead of the morning so you can possibly spot some earthgrazers earlier in the evening (see more below). You can watch the Geminids all night but mid morning is the best to sunrise.

And remember to dress warmly out there if you go


Week-Long Meteor Shower to Dazzle

By Joe Rao
SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist
posted: 08 December 2006

Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere. By around 9 p.m., Gemini will have climbed more than one-third of the way up from the horizon. Meteor sightings should begin to increase noticeably thereafter. By around 2 a.m., Gemini will stand high overhead.

Geminids stand apart from the other meteor showers in that they seem to have been spawned not by a comet
but by 3200 Phaeton, an Earth-crossing asteroid. Then again, the Geminids may be comet debris after all, for some astronomers consider Phaeton to really be the dead nucleus of a burned-out comet that somehow got trapped into an unusually tight orbit.
more
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/061208_night_sky.html

Dr. Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com), Olathe, KS: Member #2572 IMCA (International Meteorite Collectors Association) : E.O.A.S. (Earth, Oceans, Atmosphere and Space) Blog -
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Life-long interest in meteorites

Sue and I joke (well I joke she does not think it is such a joke) about when we were in Casco Canyon , (Utah I forget?). It was after the Sun set and it was getting darker by the minute. I urged her that we should get going as I did not want to get stuck here in the dark. She insists on keeping on looking for arrowhead stones. While she is doing her thing, I take a picture of her bending over trying to find one (I love this picture :) ) . She insists to this day that it is a genuine arrowhead as it looks like ones we saw at a shop later that night or the morning. We can debate about her stone but finally someone ends the debate about a stone a lady found years ago.
read below with more.
“I first picked it up because I noticed the unusual shape like an arrowhead, but when I held it I felt how dense it was,” Johnson said. “When I was a little girl of about eight in The Netherlands, I remember my father telling me that you will always know a meteorite because it is heavy for its size. I always kept it and showed it to people, saying that I had found something unusual.”

Life-long interest in meteorites
pays off for B.C. woman
31 July 2006
http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/PMSearch/PMSearch_johnson.html


The Pararie Meteor Search
http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/PMSearch/
Includes information below
July 31, 2006 - BC woman finds iron meteorite near Prince Rupert
http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/PMSearch/PMSearch_johnson.html
December 15, 2005: A record year for meteorite recovery in Canada
September 19, 2005: Alberta’s Centennial meteorite discovered near Edmonton
July 14, 2005: Manitoba meteorite hunter scores again
June 10, 2004: Alberta farmer finds Canada’s newest meteorite: Belly River Buttes
April 20, 2004: Bernic Lake - another new meteorite from Manitoba

Dr. Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com), Olathe, KS