By now you probably heard that the Northern Hemisphere’s Winter Solstice of Dec. 21, 2022, will be making itself known Wednesday followed on Dec. 22-23 by very cold temps, blowing winds and more snow than folks need for a white Christmas.
So, it might be challenging to see the Urid meteors flying across the sky when they peak in the very early hours Thursday and Friday. The good news is that the moon is in its darkest waning crescent phase with very little illumination and becomes a new moon with no illumination Dec. 23.
The Urids are so named because they seem to radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper). Their parent is the 8P/Tuttle comet. They started Dec. 13 and continue through Dec. 24.
Producing only five to 10 meteors an hour, the Urids are a comparatively minor meteor shower but it’s always fun to “catch” a meteor.
The Geminids, among the best meteor sky shows of the year, peak Dec. 13-14 in 2022.
Named for the constellation Gemini because the meteors seem to radiate from near its star, Castor, a twin to Pollux, this meteor shower historically hurtles between 100 and 150 fireballs across the sky per hour at its peak. They are traveling at 22 miles per second.
With clear weather and a moon phase that doesn’t make the sky too bright, 120 meteors per hour may be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to the constellation’s position, fewer than half that number are spotted in the Southern Hemisphere.
In 2022, the moon will be wanning gibbous during the Geminids peak. The moon was full Dec. 7-9. But these meteors are bright so chances are you will “catch” at least a few “falling stars.” Find more info at TimeandDate.
The Geminids are different from typical meteor showers. They don’t radiate from a comet but from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. You can pick up more information on asteroids and comets at Astronomical terms and definitions.
NASA experts say just look at the sky instead of trying to find the constellation Gemini because meteors have shorter trails near their radiant so are harder to spot.
When to watch.
Where warm clothing because you may be outside awhile until your eyes adjust to the sky and atmosphere. Choose to go out when Gemini is above the horizon but before the moon rises or later around 2 a.m. even though moonlight might make them harder to find. Find a spot away from lights or away from moonlight such as the shade of a tree.
The Geminids continue through Dec. 24, 2022. For more information visit NASA/Explore and EarthSky.
That bright white orb in the sky already looks like it is full, but it reaches complete illumination Dec. 7 at 11:09 p.m.
Called the “Cold Moon,” an appropriate Mohawk tribe name considering the temps in the northern latitudes, its high trajectory will make it appear in the sky longer and fuller Dec. 6-9.
Because of its long appearance at night the Mohican tribe calls it the “Long Night Moon.” The December full moon appears a couple of weeks shy of the Winter Solstice, Dec. 21 in 2022, so comes when days are shorter.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, other the Native American tribes have other seasonal names. The Cree tribe has used “Drift Clearing Moon,” “Frost Exploding Trees Moon andHoar Frost Moon. The Haida and Cherokee tribes have called it “Snow Moon.”
In old Anglo-Saxon times, the December full moon was called the Moon before Yule.
For more insight into full-moon names plus seasonal and celebration names visit Time and Date.
Along with its long night, another phenomenon of the 2022 December full moon is that Mars will be blocked by the moon on Dec. 7. Called an “Occultation, the planet, moon, Earth and Sun will be in perfect alignment. Space and Scientific American explain what it is and who can see it when.
BTW, Mars will appear very bright earlier before it starts to disappear when its eclipse begins (different times according to where you live) so start looking for it in early evening.
While politicians are busy making last minute pitches on US Election Day Nov. 8, 2022 to influence the course of history, our astrological world is busy following its own course.
November’s full moon, called the Beaver Moon because that creature is about ready to shelter in the lodge it created and stored with food for the winter, will appear full and bright the night of Nov. 7. But, it reaches full bright illumination early the following morning at 6:02 a.m. EST Nov. 8 and will still look full Nov. 9.
You don’t have to call a government agency or a news station if you see a fireball overhead. It’s not a trick. It’s a treat. The Taurid meteors are charging across the sky.
However, you might want to notify the American Meteor Society because that organization does keep track of fireball sightings and does want to hear about them.
Indeed, a sighting is likely in 2022 because AMS says the Taurids last great meteor production was in 2015. Taurids’ history has shown that its abundant output tends to happen every seven years.
BTW, other years it’s not so great. So, the time span might be why you hadn’t heard about the Taurids before.
The meteors seem to emanate from constellation Taurus the Bull (its radiant) in two streams, the North and South Taurids. In 2022, South peaks Nov. 4-5 with North peaking Nov. 11-13. Taurus the Bull is near the constellation Orion.
A better watching is arguably period now through Halloween and Day of the Dead. The moon cycle reaches its full stage Nov. 8 so its growing illumination period may make it harder to catch a fireball on Nov. 5. But fireballs, like their name, are bright, so maybe try the peak date.
The Taurids already started Sept. 10 and continue through Nov. 20, 2022. As with most other meteor events, they happen when Earth passes through a stream of cometary debris. With the Taurids that is what Comet 2P-Encke, the parent comet, leaves behind, according to NASA.
NASA notes that unlike many comets, 2P-Encke is not named for its discoverer, Pierre F. A. Mechain, but for Johann Franz Encke who calculated its orbit. The letter P means it is a periodic comet.
Whatever dates you venture out to see a Taurid meteor, the best time is after midnight when the radiant is high. But dress warmly and be prepared to wait. Best watching technique is to scan the skies instead of focusing on the Taurus radiant.
Look up after midnight to watch what is among the year’s best meteor shower.
Those meteors zooming across the sky at about 41 miles per second are the Orionids. Although they started the end of September and go through mid-November the best time to “catch a falling star” as the song goes, is during the shower’s peak of Oct. 21 when you may see between 10 to 20 meteors per hour.
Fortunately, the moon will be merely a slim wanning crescent during the peak date so moonlight won’t be a factor to see the sky show. Because the Orionids often leave bright trains and show-off as bright fireballs, sky watchers are likely to be rewarded with a meteor or two.
Where they seem to come from is called the Radiant so with a name like Orionids, expect to look towards the Club of the Orion the Hunter constellation. Look north of Orion’s bright Betelgeuse star.
The Parent (origination) of the Orionids is 1P/Halley. Right, the comet. These meteors are comet debris. Dust of Halley’s Comet produce the Eta Aquarids in May, usually best seen in the southern hemisphere, and the Orionids which are better, brighter and can be seen in both hemispheres in mid-October.
Note: Dress warmly and be patient. The meteor show goes from midnight until dawn.
Don’t be surprised to find a large, bright orb peering into your windows this weekend.
October 2022’s full moon is technically Oct. 9 with full illumination at 4:54 p.m. ET. but it will look full Oct. 8- Oct. 11 due to it’s orbit in relation to the Sun and Earth.
It will also look larger and more luminous than some of the year’s other full moons because it will appear at sunset when the sky is glowing
What’s in a name?
The Old Farmer’s Almanac explains that unlike folklore and native American names for full moons, The Harvest Moon and Hunter Moon are related to the autumn equinox.
The Harvest Moon was the full moon closest to the fall equinox on Sept. 22 and so the October full moon is the Hunter Moon because that is the name of the moon that follows the Harvest Moon.
EarthSky an excellent, on-line source of moon and planetary information, points out that the Harvest and Hunter moons relate to the season when autumn starts because of the moon’s orbital path at that time. That means that in the Northern Hemisphere the moon will appear bright in the east just as the sun is setting in the west for several nights.
September’s full moon is the Harvest and Corn Moon. (J Jacobs photo)
As you begin to see more fresh corn in farmers markets and grocery stores and more leaves dotting the grass and walkways, you know our food is entering the harvest season. So, no surprise that the September full moon is called the Full Harvest Moon and the Corn Moon.
Actually, Harvest Moon is the designated name according to when the full moon is closer to the Fall Equinox. In 2022, that applies to the September full moon because the Autumnal or Fall Equinox is Sept. 22. Visit Autumnal Equinox at the Old Farmer’s Almanac for this designation of when fall begins. (Meteorologists like to say Sept. 1 is the first day of fall.)
Start watching the moon grow fuller and brighter this first full week of September. In 2022, the moon will begin to appear full Sept. 8 and really seem full blown Sept. 9, but it will reach its full stage early in the morning of Sept. 10.
BTW, next month’s full moon is Oct. 9, a few days more than September’s past the Fall Equinox. It will be the Hunter Moon.
Maybe you’ll notice that the Harvest Moon is particularly good for bringing in crops. Nearing fall, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each evening. But that changes in September for areas in the mid-northern latitudes where moon rising is only 20 minutes later due to a shallower eclipse angle of Earth to Sun.
It is not a Supermoon but unlike other months’ full moons, the Harvest Moon rises around sunset for several evenings. That early rising frequency and lengthy moon lit twilights allow farmers more time to do their harvesting before the nights turn really frosty.
In addition, the moon will look totally full through Sept. 11. For more Harvest Moon info visit Farmer’s Almanac. For more full moon names visit Time and Date. For good, basic Earth to Sun angles visit Earth/Sky and ecliptic
Circle Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022 on the calendar or make a note on the smart phone for a double sky phenomenon. But one sky event may make it hard to see the other.
The Perseids, arguably the best meteor shower of the year, already started July 17 but continues through Aug. 24. It peaks Aug. 12-13 with from 50 to 100 meteors zooming across the sky per hour.
The meteors are debris from parent comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle whose radiant is the Perseus constellation in the northeastern sky. The greatest number of meteors will be visible after the radiant rises, according to Earth Sky. The radiant rises around 11 p.m. CT, nearly due northeast in Perseus so the Perseids are best viewed from midnight to sunrise.
Perseus was the Greek mythological hero who stopped (beheaded) Medusa the Gorgon (Maybe you’ve seen the TV ad where Medusa enters a bar and turns guys to stone).
The problem: August’s full moon, glowing in the sky Aug. 11-13 is the fourth and last supermoon of 2022. As a supermoon whose orbit brings it closer to earth than most moons come the rest of the year, it looks larger and brighter than usual. That large illumination makes it harder to spot meteors.
July’s full moon was a supermoon because its orbit brought it so close to Earth. (J Jacobs photo)
“Sadly, this year’s Perseids peak will see the worst possible circumstances for spotters,” said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
“Most of us in North America would normally see 50 or 60 meteors per hour,” he said, “but this year, during the normal peak, the full Moon will reduce that to 10-20 per hour at best,” said Cooke.
Aptly named, at least for 2022’s August Supermoon, this full moon is called the Sturgeon Moon after the giant fish found in the Great Lakes that is often caught the last month of summer. A good source for full moon names is The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The sturgeon is considered a “living fossil” for its beginnings about 136 million years ago.
(For information on when to watch for the Perseids in your area visit Time and Date.)
Word of meteor sightings in the middle of July have been coming into news bureaus but little has been said about the timing. Astronomers know there is usually meteor activity going on over head.
However, the meteor showers that catch attention are typically the big ones with major peak times such as the Perseids that peak Aug. 11-12 in 2022.
Peak dates don’t mean those meteor showers haven’t already started.
Currently the Delta Aquarids which are a montage of meteors seeming to radiate below the “square” of Pegasus, started about July 18 and go through early August. They can produce up to 20 meteors per hour.
Their best sighting is from mid-evening to dawn in the Southern Hemisphere and the southern part of the United States during the new moon phase July 28. That is when moonlight won’t be a factor because the moon is between Earth and the Sun.
In addition, the Perseids have also started. Brighter than the Delta Aquarids, they can be seen now because the comet of origin, 109P/Swift-Tuttle, passes through Earth’s orbit July 14 to Aug. 24. Their peak will be during August’s full moon phase Aug. 12 but is expected to deliver about 100 meteors per hour.
So, just because a meteor shower is said to peak at a certain time during the month, does not mean its meteors aren’t zooming overhead before and after those dates.
EarthSky has a good analysis of these two July-August meteor showers.
