Teapot of Sagittarius: Galaxy’s center

From the Northern Hemisphere, look southward in July and August to find the Teapot in Sagittarius. From the Southern Hemisphere, look generally northward, and high in the sky, and turn this chart upside down.

Modern stargazers have a hard time seeing a Centaur with a bow and arrow in the constellation Sagittarius. But The Teapot – in the western half of Sagittarius – is easy to make out. The Teapot is an asterism, not a constellation, but a recognizable pattern of stars. Two noteworthy points in our sky lie in this direction: first, the center of our Milky Way galaxy and, second, the point at which the sun shines on the December solstice, around December 21 each year.

The Teapot is best viewed during the evening hours from about July to September.

On dark, moonless nights, look for the “steam” billowing out of the Teapot’s spout. It’s the edgewise view into our own galaxy, the combined glow of millions of stars running astride the galactic equator (see sky chart above). You’ll notice that the Milky Way band appears to broaden and brighten in the direction of the Teapot. It’s here that the center of our galaxy lies.

From a dark country sky, scan this river of stars with binoculars. This region of the sky is chock-full of star fields, star clusters, galactic nebulae and dust.

Because the sun passes in front of Sagittarius from about December 18 to January 20, the Teapot isn’t visible then. However, about a half year later – on July 1 – the Teapot climbs to its highest point for the night around midnight (1 a.m. Daylight Time), when it appears due south as seen from the Northern Hemisphere or due north as seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

As seen from our mid-northern latitudes, the Teapot rises in the southeast about 3 hours before its climbs to its highest point, then sets in the southwest about 3 hours afterwards.

The Teapot returns to the same place in the sky about 4 minutes earlier with each passing day, or 2 hours earlier with each passing month. On August 1, the Teapot climbs to its highest point around 10 p.m. (11 p.m. Daylight Time). On September 1, it climbs highest around 8 p.m. (9 p.m. Daylight Time). On October 1, it’s highest around 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Daylight Time).

From the Northern Hemisphere, look southward in July and August evenings to see these stars. From the Southern Hemisphere, look generally northward, higher in the sky and turn this chart upside down. Chart via AstroBob.

Bottom line: The Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius is easy to spot in a dark sky. When you look in the direction, you’re looking toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1EQMdQ2

From the Northern Hemisphere, look southward in July and August to find the Teapot in Sagittarius. From the Southern Hemisphere, look generally northward, and high in the sky, and turn this chart upside down.

Modern stargazers have a hard time seeing a Centaur with a bow and arrow in the constellation Sagittarius. But The Teapot – in the western half of Sagittarius – is easy to make out. The Teapot is an asterism, not a constellation, but a recognizable pattern of stars. Two noteworthy points in our sky lie in this direction: first, the center of our Milky Way galaxy and, second, the point at which the sun shines on the December solstice, around December 21 each year.

The Teapot is best viewed during the evening hours from about July to September.

On dark, moonless nights, look for the “steam” billowing out of the Teapot’s spout. It’s the edgewise view into our own galaxy, the combined glow of millions of stars running astride the galactic equator (see sky chart above). You’ll notice that the Milky Way band appears to broaden and brighten in the direction of the Teapot. It’s here that the center of our galaxy lies.

From a dark country sky, scan this river of stars with binoculars. This region of the sky is chock-full of star fields, star clusters, galactic nebulae and dust.

Because the sun passes in front of Sagittarius from about December 18 to January 20, the Teapot isn’t visible then. However, about a half year later – on July 1 – the Teapot climbs to its highest point for the night around midnight (1 a.m. Daylight Time), when it appears due south as seen from the Northern Hemisphere or due north as seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

As seen from our mid-northern latitudes, the Teapot rises in the southeast about 3 hours before its climbs to its highest point, then sets in the southwest about 3 hours afterwards.

The Teapot returns to the same place in the sky about 4 minutes earlier with each passing day, or 2 hours earlier with each passing month. On August 1, the Teapot climbs to its highest point around 10 p.m. (11 p.m. Daylight Time). On September 1, it climbs highest around 8 p.m. (9 p.m. Daylight Time). On October 1, it’s highest around 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Daylight Time).

From the Northern Hemisphere, look southward in July and August evenings to see these stars. From the Southern Hemisphere, look generally northward, higher in the sky and turn this chart upside down. Chart via AstroBob.

Bottom line: The Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius is easy to spot in a dark sky. When you look in the direction, you’re looking toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1EQMdQ2

Mercury-Regulus conjunction on July 30

Tonight – July 30, 2016 – the innermost planet Mercury and bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion present the year’s closest conjunction of a planet and bright star. Their fleeting rendezvous takes place in the glare of evening twilight, unfortunately. Both worlds are bright, but won’t appear bright against a bright twilight background.

If you’re up for the challenge, bring along binoculars to see if you can catch their furtive meeting in the twilight glare.

Find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of setting sun, and in addition, hope for a crystal-clear sky. Some 30 to 40 minutes after sunset, look for the very bright planets Venus and Jupiter to pop out into the western sky. Venus, though the brighter of these two dazzling worlds, might be the harder to spot, because it also sits low in the sky after sunset and near the sunset glare. Once again, binoculars may come in handy.

Seek for the two embracing worlds – Mercury and Regulus – in between Venus and Jupiter, though they’ll be much closer to Venus on the sky’s dome.

The coy couple will slip beneath the horizon about an hour after sunset – or before it gets good and dark – roughly 15 minutes after Venus sinks below the horizon.

Mercury is actually several times brighter than Regulus, the constellation Leo the Lion’s brightest star. So if you see only one starlike object in your binocular field, it’s probably Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system.

If you miss Venus, Mercury and Regulus, there is still a wonderful consolation prize awaiting you at dusk or nightfall. Jupiter should be easy pickings in the western sky, given that this dazzling world will stay out till after dark.

Also, as darkness falls, look in the south to southwest sky for the planets Mars and Saturn (or look high overhead if you live in the Southern Hemisphere).

If you do spot Mercury and Venus, you may well have the opportunity to view all five bright planets at the same time. These are the planets known and observed by our ancestors since time immemorial: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

They’re all in the evening sky, now.

From mid-northern latitudes, look in your southern sky as soon as darkness falls for the planets Mars and Saturn,plus the bright star Antares.

Bottom line: Planet Mercury and star Regulus appear in 2016’s closest conjunction of a planet and a bright star on July 30. Too bad they’re so near the sunset glare.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/29721n0

Tonight – July 30, 2016 – the innermost planet Mercury and bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion present the year’s closest conjunction of a planet and bright star. Their fleeting rendezvous takes place in the glare of evening twilight, unfortunately. Both worlds are bright, but won’t appear bright against a bright twilight background.

If you’re up for the challenge, bring along binoculars to see if you can catch their furtive meeting in the twilight glare.

Find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of setting sun, and in addition, hope for a crystal-clear sky. Some 30 to 40 minutes after sunset, look for the very bright planets Venus and Jupiter to pop out into the western sky. Venus, though the brighter of these two dazzling worlds, might be the harder to spot, because it also sits low in the sky after sunset and near the sunset glare. Once again, binoculars may come in handy.

Seek for the two embracing worlds – Mercury and Regulus – in between Venus and Jupiter, though they’ll be much closer to Venus on the sky’s dome.

The coy couple will slip beneath the horizon about an hour after sunset – or before it gets good and dark – roughly 15 minutes after Venus sinks below the horizon.

Mercury is actually several times brighter than Regulus, the constellation Leo the Lion’s brightest star. So if you see only one starlike object in your binocular field, it’s probably Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system.

If you miss Venus, Mercury and Regulus, there is still a wonderful consolation prize awaiting you at dusk or nightfall. Jupiter should be easy pickings in the western sky, given that this dazzling world will stay out till after dark.

Also, as darkness falls, look in the south to southwest sky for the planets Mars and Saturn (or look high overhead if you live in the Southern Hemisphere).

If you do spot Mercury and Venus, you may well have the opportunity to view all five bright planets at the same time. These are the planets known and observed by our ancestors since time immemorial: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

They’re all in the evening sky, now.

From mid-northern latitudes, look in your southern sky as soon as darkness falls for the planets Mars and Saturn,plus the bright star Antares.

Bottom line: Planet Mercury and star Regulus appear in 2016’s closest conjunction of a planet and a bright star on July 30. Too bad they’re so near the sunset glare.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/29721n0

Florida reports first locally transmitted Zika cases; advocates push Congress to act on funding [The Pump Handle]

This morning, the Florida Department of Health reported a “high likelihood” of the first localized transmission of Zika virus from mosquito to person in the United States.

Up until now, the more than 1,600 documented Zika cases in the continental U.S. have been related to travel abroad; however, the news from Florida likely means that local mosquitoes are carrying the virus. The news also means that although public health officials have long warned that this day would come, local Zika transmission got here quicker than help from Congress did. Back in February, President Obama requested $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funding based on recommendations from the public health and scientific community. Unfortunately, ruling members of Congress refused to grant that request (one Congress member even labeled the funding a “slush fund”) and instead, Congress left for recess earlier this month without passing emergency Zika funds.

In a news release about the Florida cases, Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), said: “Sadly, we knew this outcome was probable with each passing day that Congress failed to fund Zika protection and response. And now Congress has adjourned for summer recess.

“Public health is AGAIN being asked to do more with less to keep Americans safe. We’ll do the best we can. Damage has already been done, but when Congress comes back in September, it must make sending bipartisan Zika legislation to the president a top priority.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, public health officials believe active transmission is currently happening in a very small, one-square-mile area of Miami-Dade County. The agency stated that even though no trapped mosquitoes have yet tested positive for Zika, officials believe that four human Zika cases are the result of being bitten by local mosquitoes. The Florida Department of Health reports:

The department is actively conducting door-to-door outreach and urine sample collection in the impacted area and will share more details as they become available. The results from these efforts will help (the) department determine the number of people affected. These local cases were identified by clinicians who brought them to the attention of the department. In addition, blood banks in the area are currently excluding donations from impacted areas until screening protocols are in place.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working closely with Florida health officials as they investigate the likely locally transmitted cases. In a CDC news release, Lyle Petersen, incident manager for the agency’s Zika response, said: “We anticipate that there may be additional cases of ‘homegrown’ Zika in the coming weeks. Our top priority is to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating harm caused by Zika.” CDC Director Tom Frieden said the agency expects “isolated” cases of Zika, but doesn’t expect widespread transmission in the U.S.

On the funding issue, CDC has given Florida more than $8 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness monies that can be used for Zika efforts. Earlier this month, CDC announced it would begin awarding nearly $60 million to states, cities and territories in support of Zika response and protection efforts — that funding will be made available on Monday. Still, as The Pump Handle reported in May, a lack of congressional action on emergency Zika funds is hampering the country’s public health response and forcing CDC to redirect critically needed funds away from state and local public health agencies.

“This is the news we’ve been dreading,” said Edward R.B. McCabe, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the March of Dimes, of the locally acquired Florida cases. “It’s only a matter of time before babies are born with microcephaly, a severe brain defect, due to local transmission of Zika in the continental U.S. Our nation must accelerate education and prevention efforts to save babies from this terrible virus. Federal, state and local authorities are doing the best they can with the limited resources available to them, but much more is needed.“

Visit CDC to stay up to date on Zika cases in the U.S. Or use this easy template from APHA to call on your congressional representatives to fund Zika prevention and research.

Kim Krisberg is a freelance public health writer living in Austin, Texas, and has been writing about public health for nearly 15 years.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2a69fwD

This morning, the Florida Department of Health reported a “high likelihood” of the first localized transmission of Zika virus from mosquito to person in the United States.

Up until now, the more than 1,600 documented Zika cases in the continental U.S. have been related to travel abroad; however, the news from Florida likely means that local mosquitoes are carrying the virus. The news also means that although public health officials have long warned that this day would come, local Zika transmission got here quicker than help from Congress did. Back in February, President Obama requested $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funding based on recommendations from the public health and scientific community. Unfortunately, ruling members of Congress refused to grant that request (one Congress member even labeled the funding a “slush fund”) and instead, Congress left for recess earlier this month without passing emergency Zika funds.

In a news release about the Florida cases, Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), said: “Sadly, we knew this outcome was probable with each passing day that Congress failed to fund Zika protection and response. And now Congress has adjourned for summer recess.

“Public health is AGAIN being asked to do more with less to keep Americans safe. We’ll do the best we can. Damage has already been done, but when Congress comes back in September, it must make sending bipartisan Zika legislation to the president a top priority.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, public health officials believe active transmission is currently happening in a very small, one-square-mile area of Miami-Dade County. The agency stated that even though no trapped mosquitoes have yet tested positive for Zika, officials believe that four human Zika cases are the result of being bitten by local mosquitoes. The Florida Department of Health reports:

The department is actively conducting door-to-door outreach and urine sample collection in the impacted area and will share more details as they become available. The results from these efforts will help (the) department determine the number of people affected. These local cases were identified by clinicians who brought them to the attention of the department. In addition, blood banks in the area are currently excluding donations from impacted areas until screening protocols are in place.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working closely with Florida health officials as they investigate the likely locally transmitted cases. In a CDC news release, Lyle Petersen, incident manager for the agency’s Zika response, said: “We anticipate that there may be additional cases of ‘homegrown’ Zika in the coming weeks. Our top priority is to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating harm caused by Zika.” CDC Director Tom Frieden said the agency expects “isolated” cases of Zika, but doesn’t expect widespread transmission in the U.S.

On the funding issue, CDC has given Florida more than $8 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness monies that can be used for Zika efforts. Earlier this month, CDC announced it would begin awarding nearly $60 million to states, cities and territories in support of Zika response and protection efforts — that funding will be made available on Monday. Still, as The Pump Handle reported in May, a lack of congressional action on emergency Zika funds is hampering the country’s public health response and forcing CDC to redirect critically needed funds away from state and local public health agencies.

“This is the news we’ve been dreading,” said Edward R.B. McCabe, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the March of Dimes, of the locally acquired Florida cases. “It’s only a matter of time before babies are born with microcephaly, a severe brain defect, due to local transmission of Zika in the continental U.S. Our nation must accelerate education and prevention efforts to save babies from this terrible virus. Federal, state and local authorities are doing the best they can with the limited resources available to them, but much more is needed.“

Visit CDC to stay up to date on Zika cases in the U.S. Or use this easy template from APHA to call on your congressional representatives to fund Zika prevention and research.

Kim Krisberg is a freelance public health writer living in Austin, Texas, and has been writing about public health for nearly 15 years.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2a69fwD

EarthSky’s top 10 tips for meteor-watchers

Gregor in Switzerland submitted this composite image from the morning of December 15, 2015.

Your goal: to observe a meteor shower. You read an article about an upcoming meteor shower, and you want to see as many meteors as possible. You want to see the sky rain meteors like hailstones at an apocalyptic rate. You want exploding fireballs, peals of meteoric thunder, celestial mayhem. Well … that likely won’t happen. Meteor showers, for the most part, aren’t like a shower of rain, and a meteor rate of one a minute is a very, very good shower. Meteor showers are wonderful natural phenomena, a chance to commune with the outdoors and see something beautiful. How can you optimize your chances for seeing the most meteors? Follow the links below for EarthSky’s top 10 tips for meteor-watchers!

1.Be sure you know which days the shower will peak.

2. Find out the time of the shower’s peak in your time zone.

3. Watch on the nights around the peak, too.

4. Understanding the shower’s radiant point can help.

5. Find out the shower’s expected rate, or number of meteors per hour.

6. You must be aware of the phase of the moon.

7. Dress warmly.

8. Bring along that thermos of hot coffee or tea.

9. Bring a blanket or lawn chair.

10. Relax and enjoy the night sky.

Early Geminid meteor caught on the night of December 6, 2015, by Barry Simmons in Lake Martin, Alabama.

1. Be sure you know which days the shower will peak. Meteor showers happen over many days, as Earth encounters a wide stream of icy particles in space: debris left behind by a comet. The peak is just what it implies. It’s a point in time when Earth is expected to encounter the greatest number of particles from a particular meteor stream. You can find peak dates nowadays easily on the Internet. Try EarthSky’s meteor guide for 2016. Be aware that most, but not all, meteor showers are best after midnight.

And here’s the catch …

The peak of the shower comes at the same time for all of us on Earth. Meanwhile, our clocks are saying different times. So …

2. Find out the time of the shower’s peak in your timezone. You don’t need to watch exactly at the peak time. But it can help you decide which night is absolutely best for you.

Different sources might list different times for the peak of a meteor shower. In that case, go with a source you trust. Here at EarthSky, we trust the Observer’s Handbook from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Predictions are not always spot on, and the peak typically stretches over a day or so.

See how it works?

The time of the peak will nearly always be given in UTC. That stands for Coordinated Universal Time, and it’s the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. Learn to translate UTC to your time zone in this article.

3. Watch on the nights around the peak, too. If you miss a shower’s peak, you might not see as many meteors. But don’t let that discourage you! As we’ve mentioned before, predictions for meteor shower peaks are not always right on the money. It’s possible to see very nice meteor displays hours before or after the published peak.

For example, who can forget the famous 1998 Leonid meteor shower? The predicted peak favored observers in Europe, and yet those of us in the states were nevertheless treated to wonderful displays of Leonids on the nights before and after the predicted peak.

Just remember, meteor showers are part of nature. They often defy prediction.

The Geminid meteors radiate from near the star Castor in Gemini.

4. Understanding the shower’s radiant point can help. A meteor shower’s radiant point is that point in the sky from which the meteors will appear to radiate. Some people seem to think they have to be able to identify the radiant point in order to be able to watch the shower, but that is a serious misconception.

You can see meteors shoot up from the horizon before a shower’s radiant has even risen into the sky.

Here’s the power of the radiant point. Once it has risen into your sky, you’ll see more meteors. When it’s at its highest overhead – assuming you’re watching at a time when the shower has been producing meteors steadily over many hours – you’ll see the most meteors.

So find out the radiant point’s rising time. It can help you pinpoint the best time of night to watch the shower.

Randy Baumhover captured this image at Meyers Creek Beach on the Oregon coast.

5. Find out the shower’s expected rate, or number of meteors per hour. Here we touch on a topic that often leads to some bad feelings, especially among novice meteor watchers. Tables of meteor showers almost always list what is known as the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) for each shower.

The ZHR is the number of meteors you’ll see if you’re watching in a very dark sky, when the radiant overhead, when the shower is at its peak.

In other words, the ZHR represents the number of meteors you might see per hour given the very best observing conditions during the shower’s maximum.

Now let’s apply this term to a real world example. Let’s say the December Geminid meteor shower has a ZHR of 120 meteors per hour. That doesn’t mean you’ll see 120 meteors per hour, but it does mean you might if you’re watching on a peak night in a dark sky, when the radiant is highest.

If the peak occurs when it’s still daylight at your location, if most of the meteors are predominantly faint, if a bright moon is out , or if you’re located in a light-polluted area, the total number of meteors you see will be considerably reduced.

Also know that most meteor showers have bursts of activity, with lulls in between. That’s why you should plan to watch the shower, from a dark location, for at least an hour or more. Several hours per night for several nights will give you the best chance of seeing the best show.

And that brings us to one of the most important factors of all for meteor-watchers…

6. You must be aware of the phase of the moon. If the moon is at a quarter phase or greater, you’re going to miss meteors, even if your skies are otherwise dark. It’s okay if the moon sets before the radiant rises, because the Earth blocks the moon’s light from the sky. But nothing dampens the display of a meteor shower more effectively than the presence of a bright moon.

Now you’re almost ready. Just a few final tips.

7. Dress warmly. The nights can be cool or cold, even during the spring and summer months.

8. Bring along that thermos of hot coffee or tea. It’ll be your friend at 3 a.m.

9. Bring a blanket or lawn chair for reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky. If you’re observing with a friend, set your chairs out back to back, and look at different parts of the sky. Then when one of you sees a meteors, he or she can call out “meteor,” and everyone can turn and look.

10. Relax and enjoy the night sky. Not every meteor shower is a winner. Sometimes, you may come away from a shower seeing only one meteor. But consider this. If that one meteor is a bright one that takes a slow path across a starry night sky … it’ll be worth it.

To be really successful at observing any meteor shower, you need to get into a kind of Zen state, waiting and expecting the meteors to come to you if you place yourself in the position to see them. Or forget the Zen state, and let yourself be guided by this old meteor watcher’s motto:

You might see a lot or you might not see many, but if you stay in the house, you won’t see any.

By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about meteor showers, or want to contribute meteor counts and brightness estimations, contact the following organizations: The American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization. Both provided the latest predictions as well as information to guide you in serious meteor observing.

View larger. | Early Geminid fireball caught on December 2, 2015 at 10:34 p.m. from the Tucson, Arizona foothills. Photo via Eliot Herman.

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Bottom line: How to watch a meteor shower. Tips for beginners.

EarthSky’s meteor guide for 2016

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1lsGYLX

Gregor in Switzerland submitted this composite image from the morning of December 15, 2015.

Your goal: to observe a meteor shower. You read an article about an upcoming meteor shower, and you want to see as many meteors as possible. You want to see the sky rain meteors like hailstones at an apocalyptic rate. You want exploding fireballs, peals of meteoric thunder, celestial mayhem. Well … that likely won’t happen. Meteor showers, for the most part, aren’t like a shower of rain, and a meteor rate of one a minute is a very, very good shower. Meteor showers are wonderful natural phenomena, a chance to commune with the outdoors and see something beautiful. How can you optimize your chances for seeing the most meteors? Follow the links below for EarthSky’s top 10 tips for meteor-watchers!

1.Be sure you know which days the shower will peak.

2. Find out the time of the shower’s peak in your time zone.

3. Watch on the nights around the peak, too.

4. Understanding the shower’s radiant point can help.

5. Find out the shower’s expected rate, or number of meteors per hour.

6. You must be aware of the phase of the moon.

7. Dress warmly.

8. Bring along that thermos of hot coffee or tea.

9. Bring a blanket or lawn chair.

10. Relax and enjoy the night sky.

Early Geminid meteor caught on the night of December 6, 2015, by Barry Simmons in Lake Martin, Alabama.

1. Be sure you know which days the shower will peak. Meteor showers happen over many days, as Earth encounters a wide stream of icy particles in space: debris left behind by a comet. The peak is just what it implies. It’s a point in time when Earth is expected to encounter the greatest number of particles from a particular meteor stream. You can find peak dates nowadays easily on the Internet. Try EarthSky’s meteor guide for 2016. Be aware that most, but not all, meteor showers are best after midnight.

And here’s the catch …

The peak of the shower comes at the same time for all of us on Earth. Meanwhile, our clocks are saying different times. So …

2. Find out the time of the shower’s peak in your timezone. You don’t need to watch exactly at the peak time. But it can help you decide which night is absolutely best for you.

Different sources might list different times for the peak of a meteor shower. In that case, go with a source you trust. Here at EarthSky, we trust the Observer’s Handbook from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Predictions are not always spot on, and the peak typically stretches over a day or so.

See how it works?

The time of the peak will nearly always be given in UTC. That stands for Coordinated Universal Time, and it’s the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. Learn to translate UTC to your time zone in this article.

3. Watch on the nights around the peak, too. If you miss a shower’s peak, you might not see as many meteors. But don’t let that discourage you! As we’ve mentioned before, predictions for meteor shower peaks are not always right on the money. It’s possible to see very nice meteor displays hours before or after the published peak.

For example, who can forget the famous 1998 Leonid meteor shower? The predicted peak favored observers in Europe, and yet those of us in the states were nevertheless treated to wonderful displays of Leonids on the nights before and after the predicted peak.

Just remember, meteor showers are part of nature. They often defy prediction.

The Geminid meteors radiate from near the star Castor in Gemini.

4. Understanding the shower’s radiant point can help. A meteor shower’s radiant point is that point in the sky from which the meteors will appear to radiate. Some people seem to think they have to be able to identify the radiant point in order to be able to watch the shower, but that is a serious misconception.

You can see meteors shoot up from the horizon before a shower’s radiant has even risen into the sky.

Here’s the power of the radiant point. Once it has risen into your sky, you’ll see more meteors. When it’s at its highest overhead – assuming you’re watching at a time when the shower has been producing meteors steadily over many hours – you’ll see the most meteors.

So find out the radiant point’s rising time. It can help you pinpoint the best time of night to watch the shower.

Randy Baumhover captured this image at Meyers Creek Beach on the Oregon coast.

5. Find out the shower’s expected rate, or number of meteors per hour. Here we touch on a topic that often leads to some bad feelings, especially among novice meteor watchers. Tables of meteor showers almost always list what is known as the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) for each shower.

The ZHR is the number of meteors you’ll see if you’re watching in a very dark sky, when the radiant overhead, when the shower is at its peak.

In other words, the ZHR represents the number of meteors you might see per hour given the very best observing conditions during the shower’s maximum.

Now let’s apply this term to a real world example. Let’s say the December Geminid meteor shower has a ZHR of 120 meteors per hour. That doesn’t mean you’ll see 120 meteors per hour, but it does mean you might if you’re watching on a peak night in a dark sky, when the radiant is highest.

If the peak occurs when it’s still daylight at your location, if most of the meteors are predominantly faint, if a bright moon is out , or if you’re located in a light-polluted area, the total number of meteors you see will be considerably reduced.

Also know that most meteor showers have bursts of activity, with lulls in between. That’s why you should plan to watch the shower, from a dark location, for at least an hour or more. Several hours per night for several nights will give you the best chance of seeing the best show.

And that brings us to one of the most important factors of all for meteor-watchers…

6. You must be aware of the phase of the moon. If the moon is at a quarter phase or greater, you’re going to miss meteors, even if your skies are otherwise dark. It’s okay if the moon sets before the radiant rises, because the Earth blocks the moon’s light from the sky. But nothing dampens the display of a meteor shower more effectively than the presence of a bright moon.

Now you’re almost ready. Just a few final tips.

7. Dress warmly. The nights can be cool or cold, even during the spring and summer months.

8. Bring along that thermos of hot coffee or tea. It’ll be your friend at 3 a.m.

9. Bring a blanket or lawn chair for reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky. If you’re observing with a friend, set your chairs out back to back, and look at different parts of the sky. Then when one of you sees a meteors, he or she can call out “meteor,” and everyone can turn and look.

10. Relax and enjoy the night sky. Not every meteor shower is a winner. Sometimes, you may come away from a shower seeing only one meteor. But consider this. If that one meteor is a bright one that takes a slow path across a starry night sky … it’ll be worth it.

To be really successful at observing any meteor shower, you need to get into a kind of Zen state, waiting and expecting the meteors to come to you if you place yourself in the position to see them. Or forget the Zen state, and let yourself be guided by this old meteor watcher’s motto:

You might see a lot or you might not see many, but if you stay in the house, you won’t see any.

By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about meteor showers, or want to contribute meteor counts and brightness estimations, contact the following organizations: The American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization. Both provided the latest predictions as well as information to guide you in serious meteor observing.

View larger. | Early Geminid fireball caught on December 2, 2015 at 10:34 p.m. from the Tucson, Arizona foothills. Photo via Eliot Herman.

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Bottom line: How to watch a meteor shower. Tips for beginners.

EarthSky’s meteor guide for 2016

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1lsGYLX

News digest – Anti-malaria drug, a chemotherapy class, e-cigarettes and……a fossil?

• Scientists at the Cancer Research UK Radiation Research Centre in Oxford showed that the anti-malaria drug atovaquone could help radiotherapy destroy tumours. This research shows that by slowing down the rate at which cancer cells use oxygen, atovaquone creates an environment within tumours that makes them easier to destroy with radiotherapy.

  Pharma Times, the Mirror and the Daily Mail were some of the outlets to cover the story.

• The BBC reported on a new clinical trial that’s just started at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, testing a new treatment vaccine for liver cancer. The vaccine is designed to help the body’s immune system target and kill cancer cells, and would be given alongside chemotherapy. Around 70 patients will be involved in the clinical trial, with half receiving the vaccine/chemotherapy combination, and the other receiving just chemotherapy. The aim is to determine if the vaccine / chemotherapy combination is better than chemotherapy on its own.
• The Independent reported that at a recent breast cancer conference, scientists revealed that breast cancer tumours with mistakes in the ESR1 gene were more likely to stop responding to hormone treatment. Future research will determine if mistakes in ESR1 can accurately predict which patients will become resistant to treatment, and in turn be used to guide breast cancer treatment.
• We caught up with our new Chief Scientist, Professor Karen Vousden, to get a sneak peek at what her new role at Cancer Research UK will involve, and what she sees as the hot topics for future research. Read more on our blog.
• In Wales, patients about to undergo chemotherapy can now speak to cancer experts to help prepare them for the treatment. As the BBC reports, the pilot scheme will run for 3 months and allows patients – either on their own or with friends or family – to speak to professionals about any fears they have about chemotherapy. The scheme is being run by Betsi Cadwaladr health board and charity Tenovus at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire.
• A drug being tested in clinical trials in Europe as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease might also be able to stop lung cancer from spreading, according reports from the Daily Mail and the Herald Sun. The study, carried out by researchers in Melbourne, is still in the early stages, and so far has only been tested in animals.
• The debate about e-cigarettes rages on as new research shows that they contain glycidol, a chemical designated by the World Health Organisation as a ‘probable carcinogen’. However the consensus in the UK is that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes. We’ve written extensively about e-cigarettes on our blog.
• A new approach to assessing new cancer drugs given to patients on the NHS began today. We hope it will help give more certainty to patients, help them get promising new drugs faster, and make it easier to manage NHS budgets. It’s crucial that patients don’t miss out on the best treatments, so Cancer Research UK will closely monitor any reforms that are implemented. Importantly, patients currently receiving drugs from the Cancer Drugs Fund will continue to do so. You can read more about the cancer drug fund in this blog post.
• The Daily Mail suggested that rosemary and thyme can act as natural painkillers. But it’s not quite as promising as it sounds. The study was carried out in human cells and mouse cells in the lab, and the results haven’t been confirmed in people. It’s also important to remember that just because a plant or herb contains a chemical that can reduce pain, it doesn’t mean the herb itself is a painkiller – or that you should eat loads of it.
  

  And finally…..

• The Telegraph and the National Geographic reported on the earliest known case of cancer which was detected in a fossil from an early human ancestor dating back 1.7 million years. The discovery was made by British and South African scientists, and confirms that cancer has been around for millions of years, contradicting the school of thought that it’s a ‘modern’ disease.

from Cancer Research UK – Science blog http://ift.tt/2aAz8Uv

• Scientists at the Cancer Research UK Radiation Research Centre in Oxford showed that the anti-malaria drug atovaquone could help radiotherapy destroy tumours. This research shows that by slowing down the rate at which cancer cells use oxygen, atovaquone creates an environment within tumours that makes them easier to destroy with radiotherapy.

  Pharma Times, the Mirror and the Daily Mail were some of the outlets to cover the story.

• The BBC reported on a new clinical trial that’s just started at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, testing a new treatment vaccine for liver cancer. The vaccine is designed to help the body’s immune system target and kill cancer cells, and would be given alongside chemotherapy. Around 70 patients will be involved in the clinical trial, with half receiving the vaccine/chemotherapy combination, and the other receiving just chemotherapy. The aim is to determine if the vaccine / chemotherapy combination is better than chemotherapy on its own.
• The Independent reported that at a recent breast cancer conference, scientists revealed that breast cancer tumours with mistakes in the ESR1 gene were more likely to stop responding to hormone treatment. Future research will determine if mistakes in ESR1 can accurately predict which patients will become resistant to treatment, and in turn be used to guide breast cancer treatment.
• We caught up with our new Chief Scientist, Professor Karen Vousden, to get a sneak peek at what her new role at Cancer Research UK will involve, and what she sees as the hot topics for future research. Read more on our blog.
• In Wales, patients about to undergo chemotherapy can now speak to cancer experts to help prepare them for the treatment. As the BBC reports, the pilot scheme will run for 3 months and allows patients – either on their own or with friends or family – to speak to professionals about any fears they have about chemotherapy. The scheme is being run by Betsi Cadwaladr health board and charity Tenovus at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire.
• A drug being tested in clinical trials in Europe as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease might also be able to stop lung cancer from spreading, according reports from the Daily Mail and the Herald Sun. The study, carried out by researchers in Melbourne, is still in the early stages, and so far has only been tested in animals.
• The debate about e-cigarettes rages on as new research shows that they contain glycidol, a chemical designated by the World Health Organisation as a ‘probable carcinogen’. However the consensus in the UK is that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes. We’ve written extensively about e-cigarettes on our blog.
• A new approach to assessing new cancer drugs given to patients on the NHS began today. We hope it will help give more certainty to patients, help them get promising new drugs faster, and make it easier to manage NHS budgets. It’s crucial that patients don’t miss out on the best treatments, so Cancer Research UK will closely monitor any reforms that are implemented. Importantly, patients currently receiving drugs from the Cancer Drugs Fund will continue to do so. You can read more about the cancer drug fund in this blog post.
• The Daily Mail suggested that rosemary and thyme can act as natural painkillers. But it’s not quite as promising as it sounds. The study was carried out in human cells and mouse cells in the lab, and the results haven’t been confirmed in people. It’s also important to remember that just because a plant or herb contains a chemical that can reduce pain, it doesn’t mean the herb itself is a painkiller – or that you should eat loads of it.
  

  And finally…..

• The Telegraph and the National Geographic reported on the earliest known case of cancer which was detected in a fossil from an early human ancestor dating back 1.7 million years. The discovery was made by British and South African scientists, and confirms that cancer has been around for millions of years, contradicting the school of thought that it’s a ‘modern’ disease.

from Cancer Research UK – Science blog http://ift.tt/2aAz8Uv

This Week in EPA Science

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s new this week in EPA science.

Intermittent River Ecology
Half of the world’s river networks are at least partially intermittent, meaning they have channels that are periodically dry. Due to human activities, perennial rivers (i.e., rivers with year-round continuous flow) are increasingly becoming intermittent—making intermittent river ecology a more popular research focus. Read more about this research in Dr. Ken Fritz’s blog Intermittent River Ecology: It’s Not a Dry Topic.

Remembering Larry Bock
EPA’s Jim Johnson wrote a tribute to Lawrence (Larry) Bock, founder of the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Read about Larry’s passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in the blog Remembrance of Lawrence A. Bock.

Children’s Environmental Health Research
This week EPA announced almost $28 million in joint funding with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to five Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers to promote health and well-being in communities where children live, learn, and play. Learn more about these research centers in this press release.

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a writer working with the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She is a regular contributor to It All Starts with Science and the founding writer of “The Research Recap.”

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2aBQKBd

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

Happy Friday! Here’s what’s new this week in EPA science.

Intermittent River Ecology
Half of the world’s river networks are at least partially intermittent, meaning they have channels that are periodically dry. Due to human activities, perennial rivers (i.e., rivers with year-round continuous flow) are increasingly becoming intermittent—making intermittent river ecology a more popular research focus. Read more about this research in Dr. Ken Fritz’s blog Intermittent River Ecology: It’s Not a Dry Topic.

Remembering Larry Bock
EPA’s Jim Johnson wrote a tribute to Lawrence (Larry) Bock, founder of the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Read about Larry’s passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in the blog Remembrance of Lawrence A. Bock.

Children’s Environmental Health Research
This week EPA announced almost $28 million in joint funding with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to five Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers to promote health and well-being in communities where children live, learn, and play. Learn more about these research centers in this press release.

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a writer working with the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She is a regular contributor to It All Starts with Science and the founding writer of “The Research Recap.”

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2aBQKBd

Dinosaur tracks lead paleontologist through museum to mentor's discovery

One of the ornithopod tracks from Skenes Creek (left), placed next to the Knowledge Creek one, showing how closely they match. Photo by Anthony Martin.

By Carol Clark

Paleontologists don’t always have to go into the field in search of fossils to identify. Sometimes they dig through the collections of museums.

That was the case for the latest paper by Emory paleontologist Anthony Martin, published in the journal Memoirs of Museum Victoria. Martin describes the first dinosaur tracks found in Victoria, Australia – way back in the 1980s – and explains their paleontological importance.

The three footprints, made by small ornithopods, were recovered in Lower Cretaceous strata of the Eumeralla Formation of Victoria, dating to about 105 million years ago. One of the tracks was found at Knowledge Creek in 1980 by paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, a husband and wife team. The other two prints were spotted in 1989 at Skenes Creek by geologist Helmut Tracksdorf.

Martin’s study appears in a special volume honoring the career of Thomas Rich, a long-term mentor of Martin.

“The article documents a presence of small ornithopod dinosaurs in Victoria, matching a skeletal record,” Martin says. “It’s scientifically significant because these were polar dinosaur tracks and, unlike bones, they show exactly where those animals were living. Small dinosaurs were much less likely to migrate far, and these tracks suggest that they had adapted to year-round living in a polar environment.”

Victoria is famous for its polar dinosaur bones, which washed downstream during torrential spring flooding and were deposited on the banks of rivers, far from the sites where the animals actually lived and died, Martin explains.

Tracks, however, pinpoint where the dinosaurs actually set foot.

Martin is an expert in trace fossils, which include tracks, trails, burrows, cocoons and nests. In 2006, while looking for dinosaur tracks, he discovered the first trace fossil of a dinosaur burrow in Australia, at Knowledge Creek on the Victoria coast. In 2011, Martin, Rich and Vickers-Rich published their find of more than 20 polar dinosaur tracks at Victoria’s Milanesia Beach, the largest and best collection of polar dinosaur tracks ever found in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Victoria coast marks the seam where Australia was once joined to Antarctica. During that era, about 115 to 105 million years ago, the dinosaurs roamed in prolonged polar darkness. The Earth’s average air temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit – 10 degrees warmer than today – and the spring thaws would have caused torrential flooding in the river valleys.

The ornithopods (Greek for “bird feet”) had three toes. The ones that made the three tracks in Martin’s current study were bipedal grazers that stood about three feet tall.

While most dinosaur tracks are depressions, these three tracks are all raised. “Somehow, the tracks changed the character of the sediment, compacting the sand underneath them in a way that led to differential weathering,” Martin says.

The specimens are part of the collection of the Museum Victoria in Melbourne. “Museum collections serve an extremely important role by keeping specimens safe and giving scientists over generations a chance to study, and to re-study them,” Martin says. “As technology changes, who knows what new information we can get by re-examining old specimens?”

Related:
Polar dinosaur tracks open new trail to past
Dinosaur burrows yield clues to climate change 

from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/2aiHAUf

One of the ornithopod tracks from Skenes Creek (left), placed next to the Knowledge Creek one, showing how closely they match. Photo by Anthony Martin.

By Carol Clark

Paleontologists don’t always have to go into the field in search of fossils to identify. Sometimes they dig through the collections of museums.

That was the case for the latest paper by Emory paleontologist Anthony Martin, published in the journal Memoirs of Museum Victoria. Martin describes the first dinosaur tracks found in Victoria, Australia – way back in the 1980s – and explains their paleontological importance.

The three footprints, made by small ornithopods, were recovered in Lower Cretaceous strata of the Eumeralla Formation of Victoria, dating to about 105 million years ago. One of the tracks was found at Knowledge Creek in 1980 by paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, a husband and wife team. The other two prints were spotted in 1989 at Skenes Creek by geologist Helmut Tracksdorf.

Martin’s study appears in a special volume honoring the career of Thomas Rich, a long-term mentor of Martin.

“The article documents a presence of small ornithopod dinosaurs in Victoria, matching a skeletal record,” Martin says. “It’s scientifically significant because these were polar dinosaur tracks and, unlike bones, they show exactly where those animals were living. Small dinosaurs were much less likely to migrate far, and these tracks suggest that they had adapted to year-round living in a polar environment.”

Victoria is famous for its polar dinosaur bones, which washed downstream during torrential spring flooding and were deposited on the banks of rivers, far from the sites where the animals actually lived and died, Martin explains.

Tracks, however, pinpoint where the dinosaurs actually set foot.

Martin is an expert in trace fossils, which include tracks, trails, burrows, cocoons and nests. In 2006, while looking for dinosaur tracks, he discovered the first trace fossil of a dinosaur burrow in Australia, at Knowledge Creek on the Victoria coast. In 2011, Martin, Rich and Vickers-Rich published their find of more than 20 polar dinosaur tracks at Victoria’s Milanesia Beach, the largest and best collection of polar dinosaur tracks ever found in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Victoria coast marks the seam where Australia was once joined to Antarctica. During that era, about 115 to 105 million years ago, the dinosaurs roamed in prolonged polar darkness. The Earth’s average air temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit – 10 degrees warmer than today – and the spring thaws would have caused torrential flooding in the river valleys.

The ornithopods (Greek for “bird feet”) had three toes. The ones that made the three tracks in Martin’s current study were bipedal grazers that stood about three feet tall.

While most dinosaur tracks are depressions, these three tracks are all raised. “Somehow, the tracks changed the character of the sediment, compacting the sand underneath them in a way that led to differential weathering,” Martin says.

The specimens are part of the collection of the Museum Victoria in Melbourne. “Museum collections serve an extremely important role by keeping specimens safe and giving scientists over generations a chance to study, and to re-study them,” Martin says. “As technology changes, who knows what new information we can get by re-examining old specimens?”

Related:
Polar dinosaur tracks open new trail to past
Dinosaur burrows yield clues to climate change 

from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/2aiHAUf