Happenings – Travel Smart With Jodie

Catch falling stars but note full moon

Look up,the Geminids are here. They will be around until Dec. 24 in 2024, but they peak December 13-15.

Flying across the sky at about 120 to 150 per hour, the Geminids are among the best meteor showers of the year.

Instead of seeming to come from (known as the radiant) a comet, the Geminids are from the 3200 Phaethon which is an asteroid. That’s the good news.

Not so good is that December’s full moon, called the Cold Moon, will be lighting up the sky at the same time. It looks full Dec. 13-16 but reaches full illumination the morning of Dec. 15.

The problem is the full moon really will lite up not just the sky but your landscape making it hard to catch the Geminids. EarthSky has a couple of suggestions to counter the full moon including looking for a spot that is in shadow.

The moon’s”Cold” name reflects the weather at this time of year. However, it is also called the Long Night Moon because of its proximity to the winter solstice, Dec. 21. You’ll probably notice the morning starts darker now and night comes quickly.

For more info go to EarthSky, Time and Date and Old Farmer’s Almanac

Holiday lights and festivals

Light up the night at Lightscape

(Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden Lightscape)

It may seem almost overwhelming when considering all the festivals in the Chicago area this Thanksgiving holiday weekend so here are just a few to consider.

Magnificent Mile Light Festival

The main feature is The Parade led by Disney’s ® Mickie and Minnie Mouse that starts at 5:30 p.m. but you might want to go earlier for events along North Michigan Avenue known as the Magnificent Mile. The Parade starts at the north end at Oak Street and ends south at the Chicago River.

However, the festivities go from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the south end of the Mag Mile in Pioneer Court next to the former Chicago Tribune building. They include photos with Santa, cheesecake decorating with Eli’s Cheesecake, free coffee samples and MUNCHKINS® Donut Hole Treats and DJ’s on stage.

Look for a good parade viewing spot early to see the floats, celebrities and bands and watch Mickey and Minnie turn on the million lights as they proceed up the Avenue. Overhead will be Muppet balloons, including a 60-foot-tall Santa Kermit The Frog .

Chicago Botanic Garden Lightscape

Stroll on a set path around fields, plots and waterways accompanied by music and refigured by colored lights. As good as it was last year and the year before, the 2024 Lightscape is almost beyond imagination.

Stop along the way for a snack or go into the Education Building half way around to rest and eat because more amazing patches of illumination still lie ahead.

Lightscape is Nov 15 through Jan 5, 2025. The Garden is at 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL 60022. For tickets and more information visit Lightscape or call (847) 835-6801.

City of Chicago Tree Lighting

Go over to Millennium Park east of Michigan Avenue just south of Washington Street for Chicago’s annual Christmas Tree lighting November 22. The tree will be up through January 8, 2025 but on this Friday, there will be entertainment at 5 p.m. and a ceremony begins at 6 p.m. followed by fireworks. Enter through the south Promenade on Monroe Street or Randolph Street.

Take public transportation because Street closures begin at 10:00 a.m. on November 22 for Washington from Wabash to Michigan, Madison from Wabash to Michigan,Michigan Avenue from Randolph to Monroe and Garland Court from Randolph to Monroe. They end at midnight.

Jodie Jacobs

November moon is the Beaver

If you have had a clear night sky this past weekend and have been looking up you may have noticed that the moon before it was even full has been looming large. The November full moon is the last of the season’s four Supermoons.

Likely you remember that Supermoons look larger because they are closer to Earth than the other full moons. That would be within the 90 percent range of its closest orbital point.

To see it at its full illumination, check it out at 4:29 p.m. EDT on Nov. 15, (2024). Of course, as usual, it will appear full the day before and the day after.

The November full moon is known as the “Beaver Moon” because that animal is beginning to move into the lodge it has constructed where it has stored food for the winter.

Other November full moon names refer to other animal activities and the weather in Native American lore such as the Digging and Deer Rutting Moon or the Frost or Freezing Moon.

For more information visit Space and Old Farmer’s Almanac.

October Supermoon

October’s full moon, which is at full illumination on the 17th of the month, will be the year’s best Supermoon. It will look full Oct 16-19 and rise about the same time each night.

It will also appear brighter than past moons and its longer time lighting the sky has made it a good time for hunting but also a time to finish harvesting. BTW the October Moon is called the Hunter’s Moon. The September moon, a lunar cycle earlier was called the Harvest Moon.

“Super” as in Supermoon, is for what looks like its larger than usual size. That illusion is when its orbit, which is oval, brings it closer to Earth. That point is called its perigee. The Moon’s farthest point is its apogee

“Closer,” means 222,058 miles from Earth (357,367 kilometers). In comparison, September’s Supermoon on Sept. 18 was large but its perigee was 222,132 miles (357,486) from Earth.

Watch for the Hunter’s Moon on the horizon when the sun goes down but its peak illumination came already at 6:26 a.m., CT, Thursday.

For more information visit Time and Date and Old Farmer’s Almanac

October Meteor Showers

Look up tonight!

The Draconid meteor shower is very short. Instead of a month or even a couple of weeks, the Draconids are basically a one-night stand. Watch for them right after sunset in the northwestern sky, Oct. 7, 2024. (Though you might also catch them Oct. 8.)

Their radiation point is in the constellation Draco from stars Eltanin and Rastaban, known as the Dragon’s Eyes.

Typically, there will be about 10 meteors an hour, but occasionally dozens have been known to shoot out.

Find more information at EarthSky.

Then, watch overhead later in the month as the Orionids take over the sky, peaking with about 20 meteors an hour Oct. 20-21. Coming from 1P/Halley, these are way better known than the Draconids. They are actually overhead now and go to mid-November but peak about the fourth week of October.

Unlike the early in the evening Draconids, these Halley meteors appear late night (after midnight) and early, early morning. They are the second outpouring from Comet Halley. The first of that comet’s debris came in May and are known as the Eta Aquarids.

The Orionids are so called because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Orion. Also, unlike the Draconids’ moon phase, the Orionids will be competing with a moonlit sky.

Find more information at: Orionid meteor shower 2024: When, where & how to see it | Space and Orionids Meteor Shower 2024 (timeanddate.com)

October 2024 Meteor Showers (youtube.com)

A lunar eclipse and a minimoon in September

September’s sky may tease viewers.

Calling it a temporary, mini-moon, Earthsky says a tiny, 33 ft asteroid, will leave the Sun’s orbit to orbit around Earth for about two months until the Sun’s gravity pulls it back.

That’s the fun look-up news. The caveat is that this mini-moon asteroid will be so dim that earthlings will have a hard time seeing it.

On to September’s Full Moon which will be at full illumination at 10:34 p.m. ET on Sept.17. It will also appear full on Sept. 16-18 and rise at the same time each of those nights.

Called the “Harvest Moon,” the good news is that it is a Supermoon meaning it will appear larger than usual though it really isn’t. The apparent size is related to how close the Moon is to Earth.

The somewhat bad news is that the Earth, Moon and Sun will be in a line. Space, is saying to expect a partial eclipse because the Moon will partially be in Earth’s shadow. Go to Space Full Moon Eclipse to watch it.

Earth/Sky says it will be a penumbral eclipse. Also check out their watch party at Earth/Sky.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the September Moon can also be called the “Corn Moon” depending on whether it comes closer to the Fall Equinox Sept. 22-23, than the October Moon.

Jodie Jacobs

Halloween comes early to Highwood and Chicago Botanic Garden

(Photo courtesy of Highwood Chamber of Commerce)

More than 14 years ago, Highwood, a slightly over a square mile northeastern suburb of Chicago, decided to challenge Keene, NH’s record of most jack-o-lanterns displayed (30,581). BTW, a jack-o-lantern is a carved pumpkin.

I haven’t heard of any time since then that Highwood hit the record, but the town, actually a city, is continuing to fight for that achievement with its 14th annual “Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest,” Oct. 4-6.

Despite all the skeletons around town that will be seen in October, the fest is a very family friendly event that includes “all-you-can-carve pumpkin stations” and three days of live music from three stages. Plus, there will be children’s and pet costume contests and pumpkin pie eating contests, food and artisan vendors, a carnival and hayrides.

What to expect: Highwood will be turned into Pumpkin Town USA beginning Seto 28 and will cover the grounds at Highwood City Hall (17 Highwood Avenue), Everts Park (111 North Avenue), Painters Park (420-424 Sheridan Road) and the Highwood Metra Station Parking Lot where the carnival will be on site.

Also, expect street closures on Green Bay Road from North Avenue to Highwood Avenue, and on Highwood Avenue from Green Bay Road to Waukegan Avenue where vendors and the Great Pumpkin Walls will be.

Music stages will be at North Avenue and Green Bay, the Bandshell in Everts Park and the School of Rock Stage in Painters Park. Pumpkin Town USA will be at the center of Everts Park.

In addition, expect many camera stops as visitors shoot skeleton scenes from Superhero movies and skeletons just posing.

“The Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest put Highwood on the map and it’s the perfect kick-off to Fall after our summer series of events,” says Eric Falberg, President of Celebrate Highwood. “This year, we are proving to the world why Illinois is The Great Pumpkin (pie) State by attempting to break the Guinness World Records for the longest line of (pumpkin) pies,” says Falberg.

Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns

(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden)

Called the “Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns” the Chicago Botanic Garden will hold this popular (sold out last year) event on Oct 16-20 and Oct. 23-27, 2024 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

What to expect: Scary or funny or just plain creative, pumpkins will be gazing back as visitors gaze at their faces carved as album covers, eerie cartoons and Día de los Muertos tributes.

Also look for pumpkin-carving demos, entertainers in costume, glow-in-the-dark tattoos for kids and light food and drinks available to purchase.

Jodie Jacobs

Full moon and a Blue moon

Freshwater lake sturgeon have long, scaleless bodies with ridges along their spines.

The August full moon, called the Sturgeon Moon, falls on the 19th of this month. And it’s not just a full moon. It is a supermoon! Because its orbit brings it close to Earth it will loom larger that past moons in 2024 as it rises over the horizon. It is also a Blue Moon.

You likely won’t see it at its peak illumination at 1:26 p.m. Central Time when the sun is bright. Look for it rising in the southeastern sky after sunset. However, it will also appear to be full the evenings of Aug. 18 and Aug. 20.

It is also known as a Blue Moon because of its seasonal timeliness of four full moons in a season and not because of the other definition of two full moons in a month. August’s moon is third in the season between a solstice and the equinox.

It gets its name from the weird looking freshwater fish that are more plentiful this time of year in the Great Lakes. Among the best places to see and learn more about these lake sturgeon is the Public Museum in Grand Rapids, MI and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL where they are in the Touch Pool.

They may also be listed in museums and aquariums as “living fossils” because their known discovered date is more than 130 million years ago.

As with other full moons, the August one also has Native American names including “Corn Moon” (Algonquin, Ojibwe) and Harvest Moon (Dakota).

BTW Even though the August moon is called a Supermoon, it will only look bigger but really won’t be larger.

For more full moon info go to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and TimeandDate.

Look up this weekend

Meteor shower (Photo courtesy of NASA)

Photo courtesy of NASA

As the song says, “catch a falling star.”

The Perseids, considered one of the best meteor showers to watch in the Northern Hemisphere, are going on right now but their peak is Aug 11-12 this year of 2024.

What to expect: 50 to 90 meteors flying across the sky in one hour.

Advantages of this shower: The moon is at its first-quarter phase so its light is not likely to interfere with meteor sightings. In addition, if you wait until after midnight, the moon will have set so the sky is even darker. But best is to watch for them just before dawn when its radiant is higher.

According to EarthSky, the Perseids usually have a good train of light and color. And they appear to come from the constellation Perseus near the Double Cluster which is why they refer to the constellation Perseus the Hero.

If not outside, watch the Perseids from the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy, says Space.

“We will be covering the Perseid meteor shower, sharing it live on the night of its peak online,” Virtual Telescope Project founder and astronomer Gianluca Masi said in an email to Space.com.

“This year, the sky conditions will be good, with almost no moon interference. We will be taking images from our facility in Manciano, in the Maremma countryside, under one of the darkest skies in Italy,” he said.”

Also hear from NASA about the Perseid Meteor shower from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology at What’s Up – August 2024 (nasa.gov)

Where to look: The Perseids appear to radiate from a point in the northeastern sky but with as many as can appear during its peak just lie back and look at the sky.

Jodie Jacobs

Moon and Meteors

Full summer moon (J Jacobs)

Primarily known as the “Buck Moon” because male deer antlers are full grown, July’s full moon will be at peak illumination early morning July 21 (5:17 a.m. CT). But you will see it full at night on July 20 through July 22.

Other Native American July moon names also reflect animal behavior, nature and plants such as Salmon Moon, Berry Moon and Thunder Moon.

However, you don’t want a full moon if looking for the Delta Aquariids , often called Souther Aquariids from Comet 96P/Machholz when they fly overhead from July 18 to Aug. 21, 2024. They peak July 30 but are not numerous at 15 to 20 an hour and not bright. Also, they are more visible in the Southern Hemisphere and Southern US.

So be patient because the popular Perseids which zoom overhead late July to early September, will peak about Aug. 12 with more than 90 meteorites per hour.

For more information visit Buck Moon: Full Moon in July 2024 | Almanac.com, EarthSky Perseids and NASA.