Caused by debris from Halley's Comet, the 2009 Orionid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, Oct. 21st, and forecasters say it could be an unusually good show.

FULL STORY at

NASA -The 2009 Orionid Meteor Shower

Check out our RSS feed at Science @ NASA!

asking

I got up early, but maybe not early enough. Not sure. I only saw one really bright meteor (coming straight at me, very cool) and a couple of dim maybes. There are a lot of tall trees here, I was not sure which way to look and the sky was already starting to brighten a little in the east at 6 am. I could still see Orion very clearly in the still dark part of the sky (to the west).

The bright one I saw was in the east at about 5:30 am.

It clouded up too. but if it's clear tonight, which it is supposed to be, should I get up earlier and which way do I look?? Toward Orion?

Thanks!

ebaines

Hello asking. The best way to watch for meters is to lay out on the ground (or on a recliner) and look straight up. Keep scanning the skies - when a meteor happens you'll catch it in your peripheral vision easily enough. The best time to watch is typically around midnight, or maybe a little after, but it's impossible to predict. The shower is called "Orionids" because it will appear to an observer on the ground that most of the meteors will be streaking away from the area of the Orion constellation in the sky. But you won't actually see them in Orion - so just look up.

Clear Skies!

asking

Thanks!

Straight up is nearly all (BIG) redwood trees.

I may have to drive somewhere to get a clear view of open sky overhead.

KUXJ

My apologies fellows,

..........Here's a sky map for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere...............And for the Lands Down Under.






There will have to be some minor adjustments as the Constellation pattern will have shifted a little to the West.

Personally I had poor viewing, as an inversion layer formed this morning causing a thick fog bank.


remaining Showers for this year
Leonids night of November 17/18, morning.......New Moon
Geminids night of December 13/14,.................Near new Moon

asking

Thanks! Well, it's now clear to me that all the action was taking place behind a large group of trees. Nothing I can do except go somewhere else.

...or hike uphill through the brush in the dark (not).

So sorry you have fog.

I have put the others on my calendar.

KUXJ

Your welcome.

Not sure, your location, but have you thought of Game Lands?, here in Pa. There's usually one or two on a Mt. top. I have three within 5miles. 1000' elevation.

Have a friend with Farmland?

Fog is something I live with, property is 1/3 wetlands.

asking

150-foot-tall redwood trees is something I live with.
It could be worse. They could be 300 feet...

There are places around here, like the university, but I wasn't keen on driving around in the middle of the night. No buddy to go with tonight.

Wetlands are nice. Lots of birds?

KUXJ

Damn! If we lived closer I'd let you my climbing spikes. Ever in one of those canopy hammocks the Botanist's use? They're neat.

Yea at best you'd have to make arraignments with security

Well Let's see:

• Deer
• Eastern Bluebirds
• Cooper's hawks
• Red tail Hawks
• Downey Woodpeckers
• Horned owls
• Bald Eagle
• Wood Ducks
• Nuthatches
• Red-winged Blackbirds
• Housefinch's
• American Goldfinch's
• Black-Capped Chicadee's
• Bluejays
• Brown-headed Cowbirds
• Canadian Geese
• Carolina Wrens
• Catbirds
• Chipping Sparrows
• Tufted Titmouse
• Mourning Dove's
• Robins
• Junko's
• Northern Flicker
• Oriole's
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Northern Cardinal

That just the one's I can see, I can hear others, but can't see'em.

asking

Show off!

I climbed a big fir tree once for the us forest service. The idea was to harvest cones (seeds) for their big tree plantation. Scary up there.

So you have an amazing amount of bird life. I like ducks and goldfinches. I've never seen a catbird.

Off the top of my head, I have:
• Red shouldered hawks
• Cooper's hawks
• Red tail Hawks
• Acorn Woodpeckers
• Great horned owls
• Nuthatches
• Ravens
• Crows
• Rufous sided towee
• Brown Towhee
• Black-Capped Chickadee's (They roost in my eaves, and one of them come's in the house on really cold nights and roosts in my office or bedroom)
• Stellar jays
• Scrub jays
• Great blue heron
• titmouse
• Wrentit (which, okay, I admit I only hear)
• Winter Wrens
• Fox Sparrows
• Western wood pewees
• Mourning Doves
Band tailed pigeons (sometimes)
• Robins
• Juncos
• Red-shafted Flicker (or whatever they are currently called)
• Vultures of course
• there are all kinds of little yellow warblers and once I saw thrasher, but that was a long time ago.

And if we are including mammals (you said deer), then:
•Deer
• coyotes
• bobcats
• bush rabbits
• raccoons
• western grey squirrels
• eastern grey squirrels (black morph)
• wood rats
• deer mice (rather large)
• voles
• shrews
• chipmunks

I'm not counting the opossums and skunks, which I mostly see dead on the road, or the herps--a separate list. and I've probably omitted a lot of nice animals.

And I won't bore you with the invertebrates, although 4-5 inch long banana slugs are chief among them.

KUXJ

It's good to see that you also have an abundance of wildlife

I can't believe I left the Ravens off my list!

DW, and me have had Heckle, and Jeckle around for over 25years, then they became the three stooges, and now with a fourth addition to the group, we're not sure what to call them?


Well.......It's been nice chatting with you, but it's getting late here in the East 12:36am edt, and I need my beauty sleep

I check back in my morning

k