STARRY NIGHTS
by Gary Boyle
Back to the index
November 7, 2003
ECLIPSED MOON AND SHOOTING STARS
November will be a month of spectacular wonders in the night sky. If you missed the May 16 total lunar eclipse due to cloud, stay tuned. We are staged for repeat performance on the night of Saturday, Nov 8.
As was the case six months ago, our natural satellite will once again slowly creep into the Earth's shadow. Since the moon's diameter is about one quarter of Earth's, easily parking it between Ottawa and Vancouver, the entire show will last for some three and a half hours. For this eclipse, there are a couple bonuses. This stellar game of hide-and-seek will be played out during the early evening hours as well as on the weekend.
Weather permitting, the moon will begin to slip into earth’s large shadow at 6:32 p.m. Mid-totality will occur at 8:06 p.m. at which point the lunar surface takes on a coppery colour. This is caused by the refraction of sunlight through our atmosphere. The entire event ends with the moon exiting the shadow at 10:04 p.m. All times are in eastern standard. By no means is this eclipse dangerous to look at. This caution is reserved for a solar eclipse, when the sun’s blinding light is covered by the moon.
With such a convenient time and date, everyone should make an effort to see this celestial performance. Bundle up the kids and let them experience Mother Nature’s greatest show.
Later in the month the sky comes alive once again with a meteor shower. The Leonids will begin after midnight on the morning the 19th. With maximum predicted rate of one shooting star seen about every thirty seconds or 120 per hour, the shower will peak around 3 a.m.
Meteor showers are simply a large quantity of shooting stars seen in a short duration of time. Particles of grit as large as the period at the end of this sentence are blown off past comets as they round our sun. Earth will be only brushing this trail of interplanetary debris.
These particles will be striking our atmosphere 100 km above ground. At speeds of 71 km/sec they simply burn up. It is this tube of light caused by this friction that produces the flash. Larger particle about the size of a pea, produce bright fireballs which can light up the ground.
This event is best seen in the dark countryside away from the dome of light pollution. Pack the car with a lawn chair, winter clothing and don’t forget the coffee or hot chocolate. Although the constellation rises in the east, these luminous streaks can appear anywhere in the sky. Try going out with a group of people searching in different directions. Let me know how you enjoyed the shows.
Clear skies.
