Eclipse, alignment, and meteor shower

What is Earth center of that stars circle it?

Remember to see the "per-seeds" (pronounced /per-see-ids/) through the dark night of the new (missing) moon, a fireball Perseid meteor shower, as earth passes through the debris field of Comet Swift-Tuttle, and an alignment of six planets: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. There's a total solar eclipse, the first in 27 years for Europe, over Greenland (technically part of Denmark), Iceland, and Spain -- a shadow going in the wrong direction if the Earth were spinning from west (Greenland) to Spain (east). It will be visible to millions on Earth. Will the world end? - YES, but not tomorrow.

Nearly 2 1⁄2 years after space enthusiasts on Earth last saw a total solar eclipse, another is on its way, allowing U.S. viewers to see a partial glimpse of the phenomenon, with other parts of the world like Spain seeing totality.

This year’s eclipse falls on the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, allowing people across most of Europe and in northwestern Africa to see the moon something (possibly Rahu) cover or "eclipse" most of the sun.

For most people, including those in the United States, the moon will not completely block the sun, making this year’s eclipse partial, according to NASA's website.

The lucky people in the USA able to view the partial solar eclipse this year include those from Alaska to North Carolina. People in [the small capital country of] Washington, DC [the ruling district of the larger country's original imperial-colonial name, Columbia], will also be able to see it.

In Alaska, the eclipse will happen in the morning, while those in the northern U.S. will be able to see it between midday and midafternoon, NASA said. People near the center of the eclipse path in Greenland, Russia or the North Atlantic will experience the eclipse for a slightly longer period; most people will see the sun eclipsed for less than two minutes, according to NASA. More:

• A partial solar eclipse is approaching; see which states can view it (MSN)

Geminid Meteor Shower TONIGHT (video)

Space.com; Crystal Quintero, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

If it's clear outside tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 13th) and Thursday morning (Dec. 14th) before dawn, be sure to go outdoors.

 

One of the year's top meteor showers, the Geminids, will peak, with rates as high as one or two meteors per minute at around 10:00 pm your local time (wherever you're observing from). However, the show will start around 7:00 pm local time, according to the magazine Sky & Telescope.

What's up there? Why don't the space-devas make themselves known when they visit?

 

US Navy's Secret Space Program

But if you can't make it out, or if skies are gloomy, you can also watch a Geminids webcast here on Space.com courtesy of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama starting at about 6:00 pm EST (2300 GMT) on Dec. 13th.

The Virtual Telescope Project will also host a webcast here showing live views from Italy, starting at 5 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Dec. 13, and Arizona, starting at 5:00 am (1000 GMT) on Dec. 14.

 

The Slooh online observatory will also host a webcast at Slooh.com beginning at 9:00 pm EST (0200 GMT) for members who have registered with the site (registration is free).

 

"The Geminids are usually one of the two best meteor showers of the year," Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky & Telescope, said in a statement. "Sometimes, they're more impressive than the better-known Perseids... More + VIDEO

A Shower of Meteors in 2012 (video)

CoconutScienceLab/JungleJoel.com; NASA, NPR (SCPR.org), Wisdom Quarterly

The Perseid meteor shower will be putting on an extraordinary show from Sunday to Tuesday (Aug. 11, 12, and 13). Venus, Jupiter, and Luna (our accompanying moon) will be there, too.

 

The "shooting star"-studded Perseid meteor shower is expected to wow earthlings on Saturday night with hundreds of ancient, vaporized, dust-specks streaking [through] the atmosphere at more than 100,000 miles per hour. Available to anyone with a clear, dark sky, the only thing keeping you from the show is rampant air and light pollution, and whatever else you may be doing at the time. This event is ideal star-gazing for the lazy. The Perseids, peaking late Saturday Aug. 11/early Sunday Aug. 12, provide the perfect opportunity to take in heavenly bodies sans telescope or fancy equipment. Seeing as much sky as possible is the goal, and laying down to look up is encouraged. The Perseids are a fan favorite among celestial groupies, a popularity Senior Editor of Astronomy magazine, Michael E. Bakich, attributes to the annual spectacle's four unique elements: More

• PHOTOS: Mars Curiosity rover sends back first pics

Perseid meteor shower hits Earth

Map illustrating the annual Perseid meteor shower. The night sky will sparkle with "falling stars" on Tuesday and Wednesday as Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet, say scientists (AFP/Graphic).

• Climax of shower visible tonight, August 12, 2009 (WQ)
• National Geographic The Perseid meteor shower, like all meteor showers, happens when debris from a passing comet gets left behind in that object's orbit around the sun. When Earth passes through the debris, tiny particles get incinerated in our atmosphere. Related: "Perseid Meteor Shower to Yield 80 Meteors an Hour?")
• Photos (BBC)
• Perseid (yahoo.com)

In this Aug. 12, 1997 file photo, a bright Perseid Meteor cuts across Orion's Belt during the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor shower seen from Joshua Tree National Park, California. The annual Perseid meteor shower is promising to put on a dazzling sky show. Astronomers say up to 100 meteors per hour are expected to streak across the sky during the shower's peak. In North America the best time to watch is before dawn Wednesday Aug. 12, 2009 (AP/file/Wally Pacholka).

Perseid meteors streak across the sky in 2008. The night sky will sparkle with "falling stars" on Tuesday and Wednesday as Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet, say scientists (AFP/Getty Images/file/Ethan Miller).

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• Video: Perseid meteors streak across Carolina Skies (WRAL Raleigh, N.C.)

This November 2000 NASA file image shows a meteor streaking across the sky during the Leonid meteor shower. Many of the primitive bodies wandering the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter are former comets, tossed out of orbit by a brutal ballet between the giant outer planets, say a team of astrophysicists (AFP/NASA-HO/File).