Tag: meteor

Braving The Storm

It has been a while since my last post. I have been busy all the while braving the storm that has been my PhD studies. While I’m only three months into my new degree (and a good 3.75 years remain until its completion), not surprisingly enough, I’m swamped with work. Thankfully, it is the enjoyable kind that comes with a research topic of my liking.

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Nevertheless, it has been slightly frustrating that I haven’t had the chance to post as frequently as I would have wished on the blog. 

But, the prodigal has now returned, and he does hope that he would be able to keep up with his blog posts as he deems it to be in the coming weeks. The brief respite that Halloween offered came with a sweet dose of playfulness as I carried out my annual responsibility in scaring the shit out of my girlfriend…

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And deservedly getting my ass handed to me afterward. 

Winter is most certainly here as well, the first snowfall caressing Edmonton in what began as a slush soup of snow rain that alerted me of its presence most distinctly through the water that slipped through the newly discovered gaping hole in my shoe. With only a few more weeks to go before classes end for the semester, and the age of final exams to come, I hope to put up a good number of posts that I have kept waiting for too long.

I will begin with keeping my word on the anecdote I wished to write on meteor showers. The Orionid showers occurred just a few weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to the Geminid showers which will hit in December. Apart from this, I will soon be pulling my book, A Little Bit Of Everything, out of Amazon KDP Select so that I may distribute it through other e-book publisher chains online. The book remains available on Amazon, and hopefully the redistribution will allow for further promotions in the future.

Having closed a chapter of my life with the completion of the book, I’m also working hard on setting the stage for a trifecta of stories that I’m hoping to work on over the next few years. Two of these stories will take the form of comics, for which I have been diligently taking art classes on human anatomy, while the last will be a novel, which remains in the back-burner of ideas, and a whole load of brainstorming.

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It is pretty much a blank slate for now, but the emptiness of it evokes the certainty of greater ideas and explosive creativity.

So, for now, I leave you all with this short update as I busy myself with another late night of catching up on my art practice and contemplation on my stories. I hope to have another post up by the end of this week! Until then, toodles!

Catching Meteors

Meteors or “falling stars” are an annual visual treat for casual observers and amateur astronomers alike, all around the world. I had my first experience of observing a meteor shower with the Perseids last weekend.

In what turned out to be an unforgettable experience, my girlfriend Leina, and I took a late-night road trip to Prairie Gardens, located near Bon Accord, a small town in central Alberta and an International Dark Sky community.

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A sample picture of the night sky at Prairie Gardens.

As a waning gibbous moon rose prominently above the distant horizon, we alighted upon a parking spot near an open field watching the night sky gradually come alive with the familiar band of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the luminous freckles of innumerable stars. Grabbing some popcorn, we would spend the next few hours watching a wonderful show of celestial beauty.

Of course, the night wasn’t complete without a short monologue (thanks to my background in astrophysics) on the phenomenon itself, before the show got underway. I will be treating you, my fellow readers, to the same today while providing further information and resources for all who are interested in catching the next similar astronomical event.

What are meteors?

Meteors are bits of interplanetary material falling through the Earth’s atmosphere. The same objects are also identified as meteoroids while they are hurtling through space, becoming meteors for the few seconds they streak across the sky and create glowing trails. Meteorite essentially refers to the same phenomenon, the major distinction being it is a meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impacts the planet’s surface.

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It is estimated that about 44,000 kilograms of meteoritic material falls on the Earth every day. Several meteors per hour can be observed on any given night. It is when the number increases dramatically that these events are termed meteor showers.

What causes a meteor shower?

Taking the Perseid meteor shower as an example, the phenomenon we are observing is caused by the Earth’s motion through the dust and debris left behind by the comet Swift-Turtle, the largest object known to repeatedly pass the Earth. The comet last passed our planet during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and its next visit will be in 2126 (I should be 135 years old then, but don’t worry, I will give you all a heads-up). It is Earth’s passage through the leftover comet debris that results in meteor showers. The Perseid meteor shower is particularly popular, and peaks around August 12 every year. Most of the meteors in the Perseids are about the size of a grain of sand, and rarely make it all the way to the Earth’s surface.

Are there others?

Other meteor showers and their associated comets include the Leonids (Tempel-Tuttle), the Aquarids and Orionids (Halley), and the Taurids (Encke), most of which are modest showers. The Geminids, coming up on December 13, are typically one of the best and most reliable of the annual meteor showers with peak rates of about 120-200 (at best) meteors per hour.

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Photo by David Kingham of the Perseid meteor shower, awarded Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year award in 2013,  combining 23 individual stills over several hours.

What do you need to see them?

Very simple. All you need to catch the show is darkness, somewhere comfortable to sit, and a bit of patience. The best thing to do is drive away from the city lights, and go to a nice dark place by the suburbs or countryside. Prepare to sit outside for a few hours, and bring some snacks and bug spray. Finally, let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and enjoy the show!

Where can I follow up on all of this?

The World Wide Web is a wonderful resource. Space or Astronomy, and even more obviously, NASA, all provide wonderful updates and articles on the various astronomical events throughout the year. So, whenever you feel like indulging in your inner astronomer, and something out of this world, just check out these resources.

In that vein, I leave you all with a reminder that we do have a solar eclipse coming up tomorrow. The eclipse will primarily be featured across America where people will have the chance to observe a total solar eclipse, while Canada will see a partial solar eclipse. To all my readers in America and Canada, have your eclipse glasses ready for this! To all my readers elsewhere around the world, for more information and live streams, you can always check out: Solar Eclipse!

Happy observing everyone!

Almost there…

It has been an ascent of Sisyphean proportions to the summit of publishing my book, and the journey’s end is now in plain sight. Having toiled persistently, I have pushed against the heavy boulder of formatting, and have finally alighted upon the stage of approving the final proof of the book before it is on its way for publication.

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The book will be published in both paperback, and e-book format (thus, the delays and exponential workload in formatting). But, patience is a virtue. Being the perfectionist I am, I want my work to be published at its best quality, and so we continue with this waiting game temporarily. Independent publishing certainly keeps your hands full but it is a wonderful feeling once your book is out. At the least, another week remains before the official date of publication.

Having been so focused on the publishing business, I’ve had little time to post anything new and interesting on the blog, and I apologize for this. While I wait for the proof copy of my paperback to arrive at my doorstep, I will get back on those posts I promised earlier. In fact, I hope to have one up by tomorrow evening, where I will detail my most recent adventures in observing the Perseid meteor showers.

I thank all my readers for their patience. You guys are the best!