The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, an offspring of Halley's comet, is underway and about to peak over Virginia.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2013 peak, fresh on the heels of the Lyrids, is expected Sunday, but the show over Reston has already begun. The weather forecast for the area calls for clear skies all the way through dawn. Try to find a dark place and time your viewing in the 4- to 5-hour period before dawn. The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club has more on the Eta Aquarids. Eta Aquarids get their name from Aquarius, the constellation you'll look toward to catch what have come to be known as "shooting stars" -- which aren't shooting stars at all. What you will actually see are flakes of dust from Halley's Comet. In May and October, Earth passes through the stream of dust in Halley's wake, giving us first the Eta Aquarid meteor shower and then…
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The first meteor shower of 2013 begins Tuesday over the skies of Ankeny.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is named for an extinct constellation, but the shooting stars that seem to sprout from it still arrive yearly, and the opening of the 2013 show will begin overnight in Reston Jan. 1 into Jan. 2. The Quadrantids is one of the lesser-known meteor showers of the year, but that doesn't mean it's anything less than spectacular. Take a look at this Quadrantids meteor shower video or these pictures of the Quadrantids. While the shower begins overnight on the first day of the new year, NASA tells us Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in the wee morning hours of Jan. 3. A stubborn moon will wash out many Quadrantids, cutting down on the number of meteors seen by skywatchers, but with an average of about 80 per hour, clear …
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See the event in Reston on Saturday, Sunday nights
With only partly cloudy skies forecast over Reston, residents should be able to get a good view of the Perseids meteor shower set to peak this weekend. The Perseids are a meteor shower visible annually when the Earth passes through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. The meteor shower has been visible for about 2,000 years, according to NASA. "The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere," according to a 2011 NASA release. "Those with sharp eyes will see that the meteors appear to radiate from the direction of the constellation Perseus." The forecast for Saturday and Sunday nights is for partly cloudy skies with overnight low temperatures around 70 degrees. Viewing …
Connie Hartke
8:52 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Baron Cameron Park. I used to workout from 6-7 a.m with Active Duty Fitness there and I recall vividly doing sit ups while counting shooting stars. Fantastic. more ›