Leonid Meteor Shower: Impact?
I know this is an annual event (my husband just tonight alerted me to it's impending appearance)--the Leonid meteor shower--but I am still reeling from the video we saw last night, a 3-hour production made from the TV mini-series, "Impact."
It is a science-fiction story about a meteor shower during which a brown dwarf crashes into the moon and jars it out of it's orbit, putting it on a collision course with Earth. The brown dwarf embedded in the moon also has a mass twice the mass of Earth and a strong magnetic and gravitational pull, and wreaks havoc on Earth with intermittent EMP events and gravitational anomalies. I have no idea whether or not this is scientifically possible, but I have to admit, the premise gave me pause.
Now, with the Leonid Meteor Shower about to present on or about November 17th, I am thinking, we are so vulnerable here on our little lonely planet, out there by itself in vast space. . .
Ok, enough of that. What we'll do is just break out the ol' telescope (yes, we have one), and prepare to watch it. Hope it's beautiful; and nothing more.
*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.
It is a science-fiction story about a meteor shower during which a brown dwarf crashes into the moon and jars it out of it's orbit, putting it on a collision course with Earth. The brown dwarf embedded in the moon also has a mass twice the mass of Earth and a strong magnetic and gravitational pull, and wreaks havoc on Earth with intermittent EMP events and gravitational anomalies. I have no idea whether or not this is scientifically possible, but I have to admit, the premise gave me pause.
Now, with the Leonid Meteor Shower about to present on or about November 17th, I am thinking, we are so vulnerable here on our little lonely planet, out there by itself in vast space. . .
Ok, enough of that. What we'll do is just break out the ol' telescope (yes, we have one), and prepare to watch it. Hope it's beautiful; and nothing more.
*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.
Comments
The particle stream results from the comet passing near the sun and the gases evaporating in a trail, along with the loosening of the dust and rock particles which enter the stream.
There are no brown dwarves, asteroids, or football-field sized chunks of rocks in the particle stream.
Incedentally, many of the meteor trails that one sees are the result of very small particles entering the atmosphere. They look spectacular, so we would naturally think they're huge, but most are probably the size of a shelled peanut when they first hit the atmosphere and begin to burn - and most of those are completely disintegrated while still very high up.
So, don't worry, and enjoy the meteor shower.
Thank you for your visit--come again, and bring your friends.
So, what's wrong with a telescope? Narrows the viewing field, that's all; right?
It was about his discoveries in the Kuiper Belt, but in it he addresses the issue of how unlikely it would be to have a Brown Dwarf or other large object sneak up on us.
This is no to say that such an object could never enter the solar system, but if there was something at a threatening distance, its presence would be detectable by its pull on other objects in the solar system by now.
http://dsc.discovery.com/space/im/mike-brown-pluto-planet-x-2012.html
Enjoy the skies! :)
I found an interesting site for questions relating to this; apparently it's a hot topic (that's Hollywood for ya):
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers
Have a great day (and night)!
Reports are, this year's meteor shower should be a spectacular one with lots of expected meteors to be seen.
And yes, using the telescope limits your field of vision.
Which might be lots of fun, actually...have to suggest it to my husband.
My husband also suggests googling to find your local astronomy club and they could probably tell you where you can see things without having to drive to another state :)