Leonids Meteor shower peak occurs tomorrow Morning

Dear readers and followers,

This year’s Leonids meteor shower peaks tomorrow on the morning of November 18th. If forecasters are correct, the shower should produce a mild but pretty sprinkling of meteors. The waning crescent moon will not substantially interfere with viewing the Leonid shower.

“We’re predicting 10 to 15 meteors per hour,” says Bill Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “For best viewing, wait until after midnight on November 18th, with the peak of the shower occurring just before sunrise.”

Credit video: +NASA 

Cooke also recommends going to a location away from city lights, dressing warmly, and lie flat on your back and look straight up. No special viewing equipment needed — just your eyes.

Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves a stream of dusty debris in its wake. Many of these streams have drifted across the November portion of Earth’s orbit. Whenever our planet hits one, meteors appear to be flying out of the constellation Leo.

A live viewing opportunity is available via Ustream from a telescope at Marshall Space Flight Center. The Ustream feed will be live beginning Monday, November 17th at 6:30 p.m. CST here and will continue until sunrise on Tuesday November 18th.

Update:

enjoy these pictures taken by fans

Source: +NASA


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Moby Dick asteroid 2000 EM26 is missing - Help astronomers find It

Dear readers,

last Monday, February 18th, the asteroid called 2000 EM26 or Moby Duck with its 270 meters of diameter passed close to Earth. the Slooh's robotic telescope on Mount Teide in the Canaries Island should monitored the asteroid called 2000EM26. However, because of frozen conditions, the telescop didn't work normally as illustrated on the picture below.

Credit: +Slooh 

Yesterday night Slooh published a file about the only picture provided during the night of February 17th by Slooh and the Dubai Astronomy Group: "Somewhere in this image, amongst the trailing star field, there should be a static round point of light – the light reflecting from an asteroid some 394­886ft in diameter (­270m). Based on the orbital data held by +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this is where Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2000 EM26 should have been. So if it’s not here, where was this chunk of primordial space rock as it made its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 17th 2014?"

Credit image: +Slooh 

Yesterday night Slooh announced officially that they are still looking for the asteroid. If you find it please contact Slooh as soon possible.

Stay Tuned

First picture of the asteroid 2000 EM26 from Dubai

Dear readers,

yesterday we told you about an hazardous asteroid of 270 meters of diameter. The asteroid called 2000 EM26 should be followed by the Slooh telescop in the Canary islands. Unfortunately, the Slooh's robotic telescope on Mount Teide which monitored the asteroid didn't work because of frozen conditions. 

Pictures from Dubai had been proposed by the Dubai Astronomy group. Look it is there :

Credit image : Dubai Astronomy group

Stay tuned for incoming pictures

[Update there]