Stargazing - Family Fun for Winter Nights
“Heads Up, Earthlings!”
NASA’s greeting was followed by the announcement that the annual Geminid meteor shower was about to begin. This meteor shower takes place throughout December and peaked on December 14. Were you able to spot these shooting stars?
Photo credit: Gregg Dinderman/SkyandTelescope.com
The Geminid Meteor shower, named for the Gemini constellation that the shower is closest to, happens when Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from a nearby rocky object called 3200 Phaethon. 3200 Phaethon is either a near-earth asteroid or an extinct comet. Its trail of dust and rocks are burned up in our atmosphere creating light trails, or what we call shooting stars.
Fun for a Chilly January Night
Learning about the stars and watching for shooting stars is something families can enjoy together, or kids can do with brothers, sisters, and friends. Wrap up nice and warm this January and see if you can spot anything in the night skies. And get ready to stay up late. Often, the hours after midnight will provide some of the best viewing.
The next meteor shower will be the Quadrantid Meteor shower, which is expected to have the most activity on January 3 and 4, 2018, with possibly 80 shooting stars per hour. The moon will be close to being full (January 2), which will make it a bit harder than usual to see all the shooting stars. For those living in our area, there may be as many as fourteen shooting stars visible per hour.
January will also feature two supermoons: the first comes on January 2 and the second one, on January 31, is a “blue moon.” It will be the last supermoon of 2018, and is expected to look a bit larger and brighter than usual. Supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee – the point in its orbit where it is closest to the Earth.
But Don’t I Need a Telescope?
Stargazing and watching most meteor showers can be done without any equipment. Whether you bundle up and head outside or watch through a window from the comfort of home, there is plenty to see with our own eyes. Read H.A. Rey’s Find the Constellations and The Stars to help you navigate the sky to find specific constellations like Gemini. Except when it gets too cloudy, there is always something beautiful on view in our night skies.
Read up on space, stars, and our solar system with these library resources.
An introduction to the nature of stars, discussing their composition, size, color, formation, life cycle, constellations, clusters, and galaxies, as well as their study from Earth.
What has a head, two tails, and shoots across the sky? A comet. Coming from the far edges of the solar system, most comets travel around the Sun, while meteors appear as flashing streaks of light in the night sky. Explore these amazing celestial wonders as they zip through space.
Computer-generated illustrations reveal the wonders of the universe, from the big bang and black holes to space travel.
Learn from the Experts
Too cold out to view the night sky? New Jersey has quite a few planetariums to visit if you want to learn more about the mysteries of space. The NJ State Museum’s planetarium is located in Trenton and offers a variety of new shows. See their website for more information.
New Jersey now has the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, which just opened in December, at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. The Newark Museum is home to the Dreyfuss Planetarium, and also features interesting exhibitions and programs.
Do not forget to check with your local libraries and NASA to learn more about Earth and our home in the universe.
NASA’s greeting was followed by the announcement that the annual Geminid meteor shower was about to begin. This meteor shower takes place throughout December and peaked on December 14. Were you able to spot these shooting stars?
Photo credit: Gregg Dinderman/SkyandTelescope.com
The Geminid Meteor shower, named for the Gemini constellation that the shower is closest to, happens when Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from a nearby rocky object called 3200 Phaethon. 3200 Phaethon is either a near-earth asteroid or an extinct comet. Its trail of dust and rocks are burned up in our atmosphere creating light trails, or what we call shooting stars.
Fun for a Chilly January Night
Learning about the stars and watching for shooting stars is something families can enjoy together, or kids can do with brothers, sisters, and friends. Wrap up nice and warm this January and see if you can spot anything in the night skies. And get ready to stay up late. Often, the hours after midnight will provide some of the best viewing.
The next meteor shower will be the Quadrantid Meteor shower, which is expected to have the most activity on January 3 and 4, 2018, with possibly 80 shooting stars per hour. The moon will be close to being full (January 2), which will make it a bit harder than usual to see all the shooting stars. For those living in our area, there may be as many as fourteen shooting stars visible per hour.
January will also feature two supermoons: the first comes on January 2 and the second one, on January 31, is a “blue moon.” It will be the last supermoon of 2018, and is expected to look a bit larger and brighter than usual. Supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee – the point in its orbit where it is closest to the Earth.
But Don’t I Need a Telescope?
Stargazing and watching most meteor showers can be done without any equipment. Whether you bundle up and head outside or watch through a window from the comfort of home, there is plenty to see with our own eyes. Read H.A. Rey’s Find the Constellations and The Stars to help you navigate the sky to find specific constellations like Gemini. Except when it gets too cloudy, there is always something beautiful on view in our night skies.
Read up on space, stars, and our solar system with these library resources.
An introduction to the nature of stars, discussing their composition, size, color, formation, life cycle, constellations, clusters, and galaxies, as well as their study from Earth.
Computer-generated illustrations reveal the wonders of the universe, from the big bang and black holes to space travel.
Learn from the Experts
Too cold out to view the night sky? New Jersey has quite a few planetariums to visit if you want to learn more about the mysteries of space. The NJ State Museum’s planetarium is located in Trenton and offers a variety of new shows. See their website for more information.
New Jersey now has the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, which just opened in December, at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. The Newark Museum is home to the Dreyfuss Planetarium, and also features interesting exhibitions and programs.
Do not forget to check with your local libraries and NASA to learn more about Earth and our home in the universe.
- Rachael W., Twin Rivers Branch
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