John Homenuk

PM Update: Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight

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Showers and thunderstorms, some currently warned as severe with strong winds, are progressing through the area this afternoon. Please see our currently active thread for the latest information on those weather hazards. 

The annual Lyrid meteor shower, which often features some notably bright meteors in the night sky, will peak tonight. Although the meteor shower has been trending toward peak for the past few days, with some sightings reported in our local area suburbs, the shower reaches its technical maxima tonight. The meteor shower is active from April 15th through April 25th annually, with peak days varying. The visibility of meteors also varies year to year based on sky and moon conditions.

This year, ideal viewing conditions are anticipated with a waxing crescent moon setting during the early evening hours of the peak days. This will leave especially dark conditions for meteor viewing. While last years Lyrid meteor shower was generally unimpressive, the variance from year to year leaves meteor-watchers very hopeful for this years result.

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John Homenuk

Lyrid meteor shower approaching peak this weekend

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The annual Lyrid meteor shower, which often features some notably bright meteors in the night sky, will enter its peak this weekend. The shower won’t technically peak until the early to middle part of next week, but an increase in visible meteors is expected beginning this weekend. The meteor shower is active from April 15th through April 25th annually, with peak days varying. The visibility of meteors also varies year to year based on sky and moon conditions.

This year, ideal viewing conditions are anticipated with a waxing crescent moon setting during the early evening hours of the peak days. This will leave especially dark conditions for meteor viewing. While last years Lyrid meteor shower was generally unimpressive, the variance from year to year leaves meteor-watchers very hopeful for this years result.

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John Homenuk

Incredible photos capture Typhoon Maysak from space

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While Super Typhoon Maysak churns in the Pacific, Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti sit in the International Space Station as it orbits above Earth. Yesterday, the American and Italian astronauts sent back some incredible images of the Typhoon and its structure. With winds sustained at 160 miles per hour on Wednesday, the Typhoon was one of the strongest to develop so early in the Western Pacific Ocean. The structure and size of the storm become incredibly impressive in the images they’ve posted.

High resolution cameras have allowed astronauts on the International Space Station to provide us with incredible images over the past few years. The astronauts aboard frequently post night and daytime images of major cities and world geography as seen from the low-orbit space craft. In the images of Maysak, the storms structure becomes apparent. An impressively organized eye and organized cloud tops make it easy to understand the power of the storm below. High resolution cameras even allow to you to see the vorticies within the eye itself.

All images below captured by Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the ISS. Click here for more information on Typhoon Maysak.

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John Homenuk

Solar storm causes dazzling aurora display

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A large solar storm, owing to a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) from the sun, caused a dazzling display of Aurora Borealis on Tuesday evening throughout the high and mid latitudes. More commonly known as the Northern Lights, the phenomenal display was one of the best in recent memory — with the color along the horizon visible as far south as Pennsylvania and parts of Long Island. Thousands ran to their cameras and took incredible long-exposure shots of the colors, which danced throughout the northern sky as a result of the aforementioned geomagnetic storm.

The aurora is visible as a result of energized solar particles flying toward Earth from the sun. When they reach Earth, the Earths magnetic field and atmosphere react. These energized particles “excite” atoms and molecules — causing them to light up and create the amazing colors we see. Yes, this is a “bare minimum” explanation, but we’ll keep things simple for now. The solar storm on Tuesday was quite strong — one of the strongest in recent memory with direct impacts on earth. The kP index, used to measure the impacts of these storms on Earth, rose to 8 for a prolonged period of time — which is quite anomalous. Typically, values of 7 or higher are required for our area to see visible aurora.

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