Checking out the back forty of Walkabout Estates by the headlamp tonight, I bent down to pick up a couple of things, stood up, and found myself face-to-face with an eastern deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) perched atop the fence. I’ve seen this several times before – they seem to like traversing the fence – but this one stayed put, even as I leaned close, and flinched
Tag: alpha Capricornids
Showers predicted, if it’s clear
There are two meteor showers peaking soon, the Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids, though both are taking place as you read this and have been for several days now – they tend to spread out a bit. Notably, the moon will be new on the 28th and is plenty dark now unless you’re up at like 4 AM, even then being a mere crescent, so provided the skies are clear in your area, the moon
Are you kidding me?
I’d seen the skies looking quite clear yesterday evening, the first time in days, so I thought I’d try for the meteor storm, and early this morning (like a little after midnight,) I drove down to Jordan Lake, the best night sky spot in the area, to see what I could see.
The first thing was, the humidity was very high and the haze had rolled in, so only stars of higher magnitude were visible
Just so you know you missed them
In a few days at the end of the month, both the southern delta Aquariids and the alpha Capricornids (both meteor showers, and that’s apparently the way you should capitalize them) will be peaking, though I really should have told you about this earlier, because now the moon will be still a bit bright and visibility thus greatly reduced for all but the brightest meteors – both were ‘active’
Oh, give it a shot
It’s been a while since I’ve made the attempt myself, but the moon conditions at least are almost ideal now. Over the next few nights we’ll be near-peak for two different meteor showers: the Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids. All too often, the moon is too bright for good viewing, throwing excessive light across the sky (especially in humid climes like
You can be looking up for things, but things aren’t looking up
Say, what’s the night sky been like recently where you are? What? You say the moon is nearly full? Wow, here too! What are the chances?
But of course, with a bright moon in the sky, it must be time for another meteor shower, or in this case, two back-to-back – well, technically overlapping: the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids. Actually both have been