Happy Book Birthday!

Post by Helaine Becker

It's a Big Bang Book Bash! I'm delighted to announce the publication of my newest book, Everything Space! (National Geographic Kids). Readers ages 8+ will get blasted into space, where we explore planets, stars, and beyond. This fun book will pull you in like gravity, if I do say so myself. It's full of jaw-dropping facts, first-hand reports from space explorers, detailed maps and fascinating infographics. It also has more than 100 stunning pictures.

Bright light in the night sky: Supermoons or perigean moons

Moon studies
(courtesy NASA, Clementine trackers)

By Marie Powell

We've all heard stories about the full moon making people and animals behave in strange ways. When the moon is full, we can see the whole "face" of the moon for three or four days. According to legend, the full moon can cause werewolves to change shape, and people to go mad or commit more crimes.

The full moon caught the public's attention this summer in another way. Each year, we experience times when the earth and moon come close together in their orbits. Astronomers, or scientists who study the solar system and celestial bodies like the moon (astronomy), call the point at which the moon's orbit is closest to the earth the "perigee," while the point farthest away is the "apogee." During some months, the earth and moon come closer together in orbit. These "perigean" moons may look brighter and larger than usual.

Astrologers, or those who see relationships between astronomy and people, call these moons "supermoons." This term is credited to astrologer Richard Nolle and has become popular in the media. 

The first of three perigean full-moons in 2014 occurred on July 12. According to some sources, the centre of the moon and the centre of the earth were about 361,800 km (224,800 mi) apart. We will see this "supermoon" again on August 10 and September 9. 

The full moon has a different name each month in folklore, and the name varies depending on whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere. For example, the July full moon is known in the northern hemisphere as the Buck Moon (when deer grow antlers), Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon. Here are two interesting sites that show the various names of the full moon:

Almanac Full Moon Names:

http://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names

Earthsky Full Moon Names (northern and southern hemispheres):

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/full-moon-names

For more information about the phases of the moon, check out these websites and articles:

Understanding Astronomy by Daniel V. Schroeder: 

http://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/MoonAndEclipses.html

Lunar phases of the moon (photographs) by Anthony Ayiomamitis:

http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Apo-Perigee.htm

Full moon calendars:

NASA (600 years of moon phases):
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phasecat.html
(This year is included here: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases2001.html)

http://moongiant.com/Full_Moon_New_Moon_Calendar.php

http://www.moonconnection.com/moon-july-2014.phtml

For more information about the night sky, see Joan Marie Galat's "Observing the Night Sky" here on Sci/Why.

Marie Powell is the author of 15 books for children, including Dragonflies are Amazing (Scholastic Canada) and the Word Families series (Amicus Publishing).

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.