It’s time for another full moon this weekend. November’s is known most commonly as the Beaver Moon, but it’s also been called the Frosty Moon or even the Hunter’s Moon (though that’s typically how October’s is referred to). The Beaver Moon peaks overnight Sunday, Nov. 17. It’s part of a trio of night-sky wonders this weekend, along with the Leonid meteor shower and prime viewing of Comet ISON.
According to folklore, the Beaver Moon gets its name for one of a few different reasons, both having to do with the dam-building, nocturnal rodents with the oar-shaped tails. The Old Farmer’s Almanac postulates that it is called the Beaver Moon because this month was just the right moment to set beaver traps before the winter freeze. But according to National Geographic, it could also be attributed to the “heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams.”
Tonight, Draco will breathe a little fire in the sky. It’s time again for the Draconids, the meteor shower that appears to spew from the dragon-shaped constellation. Meteors should be visible starting at nightfall in the northern latitudes on Monday and Tuesday night – but only if you manage to get away from the lights of a city. The Draconids’ real origin point is the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet is partially named after the French astronomer Michel Giacobini, who first discovered the comet in 1900; in his honor, the meteor shower is sometimes referred to as the Giacobinids. The comet makes one circuit of its orbit – which takes it out past Jupiter -- every 6.6 years. When Earth passes through the material left in its wake, the debris falls through our atmosphere as burning meteors.
Two meteor showers converge every year in late July and August. The Delta Aquarid shower rambles along steadily with a nominal peak in late July, but this shower is still going strong when the Perseids peak around the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. An hour or two before dawn usually presents the most favorable view of the Delta Aquarids and the Perseids, assuming the moon is out of the way. In late July 2013, the rather faint Delta Aquarid meteors will be at least partially drowned in the light of a bright last quarter moon on July 29. Try watching in early August, when the Perseid meteor shower is building to its peak and the light of the waning crescent moon is less obtrusive. Thanks to that waning moon in late July and early August, we’ll have moon-free skies for this year’s Perseid meteor shower.
Radiant point of Eta Aquarid meteor shower. It’s in the constellation Aquarius, in the southeast before dawn on May mornings, as seen from mid-northern latitude
The Lyrid meteor shower – which peaked before dawn April 22, 2013 – hasn’t been great for skywatchers in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. The reason is that the radiant point, or point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate, is far to the north on the sky’s dome. Meanwhile, our friends in the Southern Hemisphere are asking which meteor showers are worth watching in their part of the world. We’re pleased to inform southern (and northern) skywatchers that one meteor shower in particular – the Eta Aquarid shower – is coming up in early May, and it’s a fine one to view from both northerly and southerly latitudes. No matter where you live, you can watch the Eta Aquarids in early May. Plus the moon is not a problem for this shower this year!
PLANETS ALIGN THIS WEEKEND: The Moon, Venus, and Jupiter are lining up in the eastern sky this weekend--right in the middle of the Perseid meteor shower. It's a must-see event. A new ScienceCast video from NASA previews the display.
