Monday, December 14, 2009

Stars in the Sky

Last night we watched the cold and clear sky only for a few minutes and saw a number of "shooting stars" from this Decembers meteor shower highlight, the Geminid Meteor Shower. They are exceptionally impressive this year because it is near New Moon, so the moonlight does not distract from or diminish the visibility of the meteors´lights. It seemed last night they were everywhere in the sky but I read today they sort of radiate from a source within the Gemini or Twins, hence the name.
I added a link to an interactive astro viewer under the links in the left side column, you can change the location (it´s New York by default, you can also change the language for the stars between Latin and Englisch, for that you need to click on the full featured astro viewer, so if you don´t know where to find the Gemini, this is a help...)
Another tip for watching the sky at night is to be in a really dark place, so turn off all the lights around you or even better travel to a spot where there is as little light as possible.


October night sky on Bray Head, Valentia Island 
with view towards Portmagee