Tag archives for Comets
Posted by Tonight’s Geminid meteor shower may be the best meteor shower of the year. Scientists predict the shower will peak between 2 a.m. and dawn, so it’s probably past your bed time, but it may well be worth it. “The Geminids have been slowly getting better over the past years, making it one of the best showers,” Gyuk said. “And it has become very reliable, so we can expect a fairly nice show.”
Most yearly meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through a comet’s debris cloud. The Geminids are different, though. This shower is believed to come from a three-mile-wide (4.8 kilometers) asteroid-like space rock called Phaethon.
Read more about the meteor shower on National Geographic News.
How much do you know about comets and meteors? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Wally Pacholka, TWAN
You might be able to catch a glimpse of an unusual sight this week: a green comet! Comet 103P/Hartley 2 will be visible this week as it passes the Earth. Even though the comet orbits the sun every 6.5 years, it rarely gets as close to Earth as it did on Wednesday, October 20. Discovered in 1986, the comet’s most distinctive feature is its green halo. If the skies are clear, the comet may be visible with the naked eye, but binoculars or a telescope will make the view clearer.
See more pictures of the comet on National Geographic News.
How much do you know about comets and meteors? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph courtesy Gregg L. Ruppel
Every August, skywatchers look to the heavens to see the Perseids meteor shower. This shower peaks today, from about 3 p.m. ET to 2 a.m. ET tomorrow morning. The Perseids meteor shower is caused by the Earth passing through a debris field left by the Swift-Tuttle comet, which passes around the sun every 135 years. Swift-Tuttle’s last visit was in 1992.
To watch tonight’s display, head outside and lie down on the ground, or sit in a comfy chair and look up! Observers in Europe and North America will have the best show on this dark, moonless night. Scientists can’t predict what sort of show people will see, but some of the streaks may be bigger than others. “As the Earth passes through the dust trail of comets, it encounters debris from the size of grains of sand to [the size of] boulders,” said Raminder Singh Samra, resident astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Learn more about the Perseids on National Geographic News.
Learn how to go stargazing on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Michel Tournay, My Shot
