Look to the skies ...

Today's Highlight on Advancement is Astronomy, Usscouts.org has the details on the Belt Loop and Academics Pin requirements. If your scout completes these requirements please let your den leader know.

Here is a Meteor guide for the remainder of 2008 as additional information to inspire us.

November 11 or 12, 2008 North Taurids
Like the South Taurids, this shower is long lasting (October 12 – December 2) but modest, and the peak number is forecast at 7 as well. Because the South and North Taurids overlap, there’s some chance of catching a few extra meteors per hour. In most years, you would see the maximum numbers at around 1 a.m., when Taurus the Bull rides high in the sky. Unfortunately, in 2008, the nearly full moon will wash most of these meteors from view.

November 17, 2008 Leonids
Historically, the Leonids have produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history, with rates as high as many thousands of meteors per hour. These storms often recur in cycles of 33 years. In 2008, we anticipate more of a whimper than a growl from Leo the Lion, with a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour. Like the October Orionids, the Leonids produce swift-moving meteors, and tend to put out the greatest numbers just before dawn. The peak, however, on November 17, also features a large bright waning gibbous moon in the sky after midnight. Forget the Leonids this year, unless you are a serious meteor observer – or unless you happen to spot a few whizzing past in bright moonlight!

December 13, 2008 Geminids
The Geminids are often the year’s grand finale for meteor-watchers. As a general rule, it’s either the Geminids or the August Perseids that give us the most prolific meteor display of the year. The Geminids tend to intensify and climax at about 2 in the morning. With maximums commonly reaching 50 meteors per hour, this is a glorious time of year to sprawl out on your reclining lawn chair and to take in the show. Just be sure to bring along warm clothing, blankets or sleeping bags, and a thermos with a warm beverage. Unfortunately, there is a bright moon – only one day past full – for the 2008 Geminid shower. As a result, you probably won’t see very many Geminid meteors this year.

Tips for watching meteors
Here’s the first thing – the main thing – you need to know to become as proficient as the experts at watching meteors. That is, to watch meteors, you need a dark sky.

You also need to be looking at the right time. Meteor showers occur over a range of dates, as Earth moves through space, crossing “meteor streams.” These streams of icy particles in space come from comets moving in orbit around the sun. Comets are fragile icy bodies that litter their orbits with debris. When this cometary debris enters our atmosphere, it vaporizes due to friction with the air. If moonlight or city lights don’t obscure the view, we on Earth see the falling, vaporizing particles as meteors.

Although astronomers have tried to publish exact predictions in recent years, meteor showers remain notoriously unpredictable. Your best bet is to go outside at the times we suggest, and plan to spend at least an hour reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky.

In 2008, the moon gets in the way of quite a few of the year’s best showers. The most moon-free shower of the year will probably be the Perseids of August, and, even for the Perseids, you’ll have a narrow window for meteor-watching in the hours between moonset and dawn. This custom sunrise sunset calendar also includes moon phases and moon rise and set times.
Peak times are derived from data published in the Observer’s Handbook 2007 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.