Jul
28
Fri
2017
Cancelled – Great Meadow Public Night @ Great Meadow
Jul 28 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Forecast of heavy rains force cancellation of the public night at Great Meadow. We’ll try again in August.

Ray Young

————-

Great Meadow site coordinatorSee front page of NOVAC Site for changes to event.

More information about Great Meadow including directions and parking visit the Great Meadow Site page.

Aug
12
Sat
2017
Perseids Meteor Shower
Aug 12 all-day

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. The waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year, but the Perseids are so bright and numerous that it should still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Aug
25
Fri
2017
Great Meadow Public Night @ Great Meadow
Aug 25 @ 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Sep
22
Fri
2017
Cancelled – Great Meadow Public Night @ Great Meadow
Sep 22 @ 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm

The Clear Sky Chart for tomorrow doesn’t look too promising, so I’m cancelling the public night.

 Ray Young
 Great Meadow site coordinator

 

See front page of NOVAC Site for changes to event.

More information about Great Meadow including directions and parking visit the Great Meadow Site page.

Oct
8
Sun
2017
Draconids Meteor Shower
Oct 8 – Oct 9 all-day

The radiant point for the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky. That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls. That means that, unlike many meteor showers, more Draconids are likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour. In 2015, the waning crescent moon rises at late night and will not intrude on this year’s Draconid shower. Try watching at nightfall and early evening on October 7 and 8.

Oct
21
Sat
2017
Orionids Meteor Shower
Oct 21 all-day

This shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. It peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The Orionids are meteors left behind in the wake of Halley’s Comet.

Oct
22
Sun
2017
Great Meadow Public Night @ Great Meadow
Oct 22 @ 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Nov
17
Fri
2017
Leonids Meteor Shower
Nov 17 all-day

The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. The nearly new moon will not be a problem this year. Skies should be dark enough for what should be good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Nov
19
Sun
2017
Cancelled – Great Meadow Public Night @ Great Meadow
Nov 19 @ 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Dec
13
Wed
2017
Geminids Meteor Shower
Dec 13 all-day

The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The waning crescent moon will be no match for the Geminids this year. The skies should still be dark enough for an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.