A brand new meteor shower on Monday and Tuesday (May 30-31) may light up the Memorial holiday sky tonight or it could be a big bust. However, you can watch it live online.
Called tau Hercules meteor showerThere is a possibility of the so-called event “Meteor storm” of 1,000 shooting stars per hour Comet 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 passes through Earth debris Monday night. But it may come out completely, scientists still do not know. A NASA scientist called this an “all or nothing event”.
You can see live footage of what is possible Erical precipitation On Monday and Tuesday early overnight in a live broadcast above from a virtual telescope project led by astronomer Gianluca Masi in Secunderabad, Italy. Free webcast Starting at 12 p.m. EDT on May 31 (0400 GMT) It will also feature footage from all Sky cameras in Arizona and Brazil, Masi told Space.com. You can too The virtual telescope can be viewed directly from the project website (Opens in new tab) At the start.
Related: The biggest meteor storms of all time
Further: NASA says potential meteor shower is ‘all or nothing’
The possibility of a meteor shower comes from the cometary nature of comet 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. The comet was first discovered in 1930 and in orbit The sun Once every 5.4 years, it comes within 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) of the Sun.
But the dusty, gaseous debris from Comet 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is not sure if it will create an impressive meteor shower, a meteor storm or anything.
Phil Cook, NASA astronomer observing meteor showers Marshall Space Flight Center In Huntsville, Alabama, he said it all depends on the speed of the object coming from the comet.
“If debris from SW 3 travels more than 220 miles [354 kilometers] We can see a good meteor shower per hour as it separates from the comet, “Cook said in a recent statement. Report (Opens in new tab). “If the craters had a slow ejection speed, nothing would come to Earth and there would be no meteorites from this comet.”
Cook, the narrator of the Dow Hercules meteor shower “All or nothing” In the same statement.
Related: Meteor shower guide 2022: Dates and viewing advice
Eruptions from a comet between 1995 and 2000 increased its brightness, the Hubble Space Telescope in April 2006. Saw a major decay event As the comet split. By March 2017, 68 different pieces remained Of the comet.
To see any meteorites from the Dove Hercules meteor shower, visitors should try to stay away from city lights, as NASA says their “shooting stars” may fade due to their slow speed.
“If we get it this year, SW 3’s debris will hit the Earth’s atmosphere very slowly, traveling just 10 miles. [16 km] Per second – that is, meteorites are fainter than etta aquarists, “said NASA Wrote in a guide (Opens in new tab)“But North American astronauts are particularly keen this year because of the Dove Herculean radiation in the night sky at the forecast peak.”
Editor’s note: If you would like to take an amazing photo of the Dow Hercules meteor shower and share it with the readers of Space.com, please send us your photos, comments and your name and location. [email protected].
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