The annual meteor bathe the Alpha-Centaurids will peak on Wednesday (Feb. 8). Skywatchers will see the meteors from the Centaurids at any time its obvious level of origin within the constellation of Centaurus, or radiant level, is above the horizon.
Whereas the height of the Alpha-Centaurids meteor bathe, which lasts from Jan. 28 to Feb. 21, will probably be seen to observers within the Southern Hemisphere, viewers in Northern Hemisphere areas will miss out. It is because, for areas equivalent to New York Metropolis, the radiant level of this explicit meteor shower by no means rises above the horizon.
Within the U.S. solely the “head and shoulders” stars of Centaur that represents Centaurus could be seen, with this reaching its highest level within the sky at round 10 p.m. native time every evening throughout mid-Could, based on Britannica (opens in new tab).
Conversely, observers within the Southern Hemisphere can see the entire of Centaurus, together with the 5 shiny stars that make up the Centaur’s physique. This consists of the radiant level which is related to the star Rigil Kentaurus or Alpha Centauri A.
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Rigil Kentaurus is a part of the three stars that comprise Alpha Centauri, the fourth brightest star over Earth and the celestial object from which this meteor bathe takes its identify.
In response to In-the-Sky (opens in new tab), the radiant of the Alpha-Centaurid meteor bathe is positioned at round right ascension 13h50m and declination 58 levels S. Starwalk adds (opens in new tab) that the radiant of the meteor bathe is excessive above the horizon, thus making essentially the most meteors seen at 5:00 a.m. native time.
The Alpha-Centaurids is a minor meteor bathe that means that even at its most exercise, it’s going to nonetheless solely produce between 2 and 10 meteors per hour.
Due to the very fact the moon is barely simply transferring from its full moon phase, generally known as the Sturgeon moon in Australia and different elements of the southern hemisphere, and the Snow Moon within the north, it’s going to nonetheless be nearly absolutely illuminated thus not offering the darkish skies wanted for perfect viewing situations.
In consequence, Starwalk (opens in new tab) advises skywatchers to maintain in search of Alpha-Centauri meteors till Feb. 15.
When you’re hoping to catch Alpha-Centaurids meteors, our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars are a terrific place to begin. When you’re trying to snap images of the evening sky, take a look at our information on how to photograph the moon, in addition to our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.
Like all annual meteor showers, the Alpha-Centaurids are brought on by the Earth passing by way of particles left behind by a comet or an asteroid because it orbits the sun.
This particles is ejected from comets as they arrive near the sun throughout their very own orbit of the star and solar radiation heats strong materials inflicting it to show straight to fuel, a course of referred to as sublimation.
This materials leaks from the comet and blasts away different strong materials from the comet’s icy floor creating the attribute glowing halo or “coma” and shiny tail of a comet in addition to particles left hanging across the sun.
This particles enters Earth’s atmosphere at excessive speeds as nice as 44 miles per second (71 kilometers per second) when our planet passes by way of notably dense patches or streams. Usually burning up at altitudes of round 43 to 62 miles (70 to 100 kilometers) above Earth the particles creates shiny streaks and even explosive fireballs within the evening sky.
At present, the id of the mother or father physique that provides rise to the Alpha-Centaurids is unknown.
Editor’s Word: When you snap Alpha-Centaurids meteors, and wish to share it with House.com’s readers, ship your photograph(s), feedback, and your identify and placement to spacephotos@space.com.
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