Watertown Daily Times | The meteor showers will end on a bright note in 2018, with a coming Monday



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There are many good chances to see a brilliant show in the night sky as the 2018 meteor shower season ends in the next few months.

The American Meteor Society describes the rainy period from October to December as "an almost continuous period of intense meteor activity". Many of the showers are well known because they happen every year or at regular intervals when the Earth crosses the dusty debris trail. left by a comet, "according to NASA's Planetary Science Division.

According to NASA, the showers are high concentrations of meteors or shooting stars. Debris or space debris "fall" into the planet 's atmosphere and leave a brilliant trail when they are heated to incandescence by the friction of the atmosphere. .

Major meteor shower remains on schedule this year. Spectators should note that the presence of light – from the spectator's proximity to the lights, or from the brightest phases of the moon – can affect the visual quality of a meteor shower, according to the AMS.

Orionid

According to NASA's meteorological expert, Bill Cooke, "the moon will be messing around" with the Orionid level gauge, according to Space.com.

The Orionids, which appear as the Earth crosses the debris of Halley's Comet, are active from October 2nd to November 1st. 7, according to NASA. According to NASA, rush hour is set for October 21, after midnight, with about 15 meteors per hour.

Leonides

From November 6 to 30, the offspring of comet Tempel-Tuttle is expected to culminate November 17-18, with 10 to 15 meteors per hour, according to NASA.

But a bright moon will also hinder the visibility of this event, reports Space.com.

Geminids

Active from December 4 to 17 and "considered one of the best and most reliable annual meteor shower", the Geminids are expected to reach a maximum of 120 meteors per hour on the night of December 13 to 14, according to NASA.

"The best time to see the Geminids is around 2 am local time," said Cooke of NASA, according to Space.com. "The moon will be the first quarter, so she will go to bed around midnight; there will be no moonlight to interfere with the Geminids this year. "

Other small meteor showers help fill the 2018 calendar:

An impending new moon will create ideal conditions while the Draconids will culminate on October 7 or 8, but the "shower often sleeps, rarely offering more than 5 meteors per hour," according to EarthSky.org.

AccuWeather.com indicates that Northern Tauridae will have a similar meteoric rate when they peak during the night of November 11-12.

And the American Meteor Society reminds observers of the last rain of the year – the Ursids. Earthsky lists the Ursids reaching their maximum activity before dawn on Dec. 22, but indicates that "the full moon is safe to place a damper" on the screen that produces 5 to 10 meteors per hour.

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