Marvelous Meteors: A new meteor shower this May

By Marie Powell

(Updated May 24)

A brand new meteor shower occurred in the early morning hours Friday May 23 to Saturday May 24 called the Camelopardalids.

A meteor shower happens when particles from space -- meteors -- pass into the Earth's atmosphere at the same time, or when the Earth passes through a debris trail left behind by a comet. Some people call them "shooting stars." There are several meteor showers every year, like the Perseids pictured here.  This meteor shower is predicted to occur again in August.

Another meteor shower expected to occur on October 21 this year is the Orionids. These small chunks of ice, rock, and minerals were left behind by Haley's Comet. We'll see them again on October 21 this year, according to predictions.

Other meteor showers occur regularly, and some can be predicted at certain times of the year. For example, the Lyrids are formed by debris from Comet Thatcher and can be seen in late April. The intensity or brightness and length of meteor showers vary. Websites like Spacedex offer a list of meteor shower predictions to help flag these dates.

Scientists had predicted the new Camelopardalids meteor shower on May 23-24 would be as strong as the Perseids. The radiant or the point from which it radiates is large, so scientists anticipated it would be a strong and bright meteor shower. It's caused by debris from comet 209P/LINEAR located between the constellations of Ursa Major and Cassiopeia, and it's named after the constellation Camelopardalis (the giraffe). Because it had never been seen before, it was difficult to predict exactly when it would appear or how bright it would be, but NASA set up a live feed to view the shower.

As it turned out, the meteor shower disappointed most viewers.  One reported seeing about 10 meteors throughout the night. Here is a round-up of links (and I will add more over the weekend):

"Camelopardalids Meteor Shower Skimpy but Sweet" by Bob King: http://www.universetoday.com/112120/camelopardalid-meteor-shower-skimpy-but-sweet/

Images of the meteor shower:  http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/arx/meteors_052414_fast.gif

NASA's webcast replay:  http://www.space.com/19195-night-sky-planets-asteroids-webcasts.html 

Twitter followers reported being disappointed, but as one said, it was better to be informed of the event in advance:  https://twitter.com/hashtag/camelopardalids?src=hash

Here are some general links about meteor showers and predictions for the Camelopardalids:

Spacedex's list of predicted dates: http://www.spacedex.com

CBC meteor shower calendar: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/meteor-shower-calendar-1.1311681

NASA's live feed:

https://www.slooh.com 

NASA's prediction for the Camelopardalids: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/may-camelopardalids.html#.U39cbV6ntfM

NASA's tips on meteor showers: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/aquarids_2012_prt.htm

International Meteor Organization: http://www.imo.net

IMO's prediction for the Camelopardalids: http://www.imo.net/camelopardalids2014

CBC article with links: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/new-meteor-shower-the-camelopardalids-expected-tonight-1.2650775

Marie Powell is the author of 15 books for children, including Dragonflies are Amazing (Scholastic Canada) and a six-book Word Families series (Amicus Publishing). Her second six-book series is expected this fall, along with two middle-grade books of Canadian history.

Save the night

by Joan Marie Galat
Author of the Dot to Dot in the Sky books - blending astronomy with ancient mythology

While delivering astronomy presentations at schools in southern Alberta a few weeks ago, I took advantage of the opportunity to ask my elementary age audiences two simple questions. How many of you have heard of a supernova? How many have heard of a black hole? While I was surprised to see how many hands went up in the Kindergarten to grade three groups, I was not surprised to see their interest in the night sky.  Exploding stars are exciting! Black holes fill imaginations with "what if" questions.

Although exploding stars are rarely seen and black holes are invisible, there are many other objects in the night sky to enjoy. You can see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye, as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the 88 official constellations.

Unfortunately not everyone can enjoy the celestial wonders that should be visible on a good dark night. Those living in brightly lit cities and towns face light pollution strong enough to make dim stars less visible, constellations difficult to identify, and dark sky objects impossible to see. Even those in rural communities may find their night sky lit by yard lights, traffic, and nearby communities.

You can help reduce light pollution in a number of ways:
-stop using lights to decorate outdoors
-never use more light than you need
- choose lower wattages whenever possible
-close curtains at night to prevent light from trespassing outdoors
-consider whether you can be more selective about when you use outdoor lighting
-ensure outdoor lighting only illuminates the area you need lit
-turn off lights when they are not needed
-encourage others to be aware of their use of lighting.

Discover more strategies to reduce light pollution from the International Dark-Sky Association.

Earth at night

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/NOAA NGDC