Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,152,469 members, 7,816,105 topics. Date: Friday, 03 May 2024 at 05:00 AM

Fragments Of Halley’s Comet Will Fly Across The Sky This Weekend As Shootingstaz - Science/Technology - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Science/Technology / Fragments Of Halley’s Comet Will Fly Across The Sky This Weekend As Shootingstaz (430 Views)

What I Saw In The Sky In Ikoyi Today / Rain Of Worms Falls Down The Sky In China, Residents Panic (Photos) / Rare Green Comet To Be Visible From Earth After 50,000 Years (2) (3) (4)

(1) (Reply)

Fragments Of Halley’s Comet Will Fly Across The Sky This Weekend As Shootingstaz by teemy(m): 4:51pm On Oct 20, 2017
https://qz.com/1107660/the-orionoid-meteor-shower-will-bring-shooting-stars-this-weekend/

The Once in a lifetime comet would be seen this weekend.

[img]https://qzprod.files./2017/10/space1.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600[/img]


Fragments Of Halley’s Comet Will Fly Across The Sky This Weekend As Shooting stars

As Halley’s Comet continues its eternal processional through the solar system, it occasionally gives those of us who are Earthbound a pretty good show—and one of them is taking place this weekend (Oct. 20-21).
As the comet passes close to Earth—as it does every 75 to 76 years—rays from the Sun will hit it, blasting particles off that turn into meteoroids, which tumble into the Earth’s atmosphere and become so-called shooting stars as they hit speeds of about 148,000 mph (238,000 km/h). And because there are so many—about 20 will pass through the sky every hour—people all across the world with clear night skies will have a good chance of getting an unusually active space show.
It’s a predictable-but-rare event for people to witness an active meteoroid shower as Halley’s Comet passes through the solar system. And while this year won’t provide a clear view of the comet, it is close enough for the Earth’s gravitational pull to grab the comet’s meteoroids.
The event has been called the Orionoid Shower because the meteoroids will appear to radiate from the constellation Orion, particularly its sword. But knowledge of the constellations won’t be necessary for the average viewer looking to catch a glimpse of shooting stars—which can be seen from anywhere.
Astronomers say all people need is a clear sky and a spot as far from light pollution as they can get.
Halley’s Comet—named after the English astronomer Edmond Halley—is perhaps the best-known comet on Earth. It may have been first observed by humans as early as 467 BC in Greece. The first for-sure appearance, though, was in 240 BC in China. Since then it has been noted in Babylonian tablets, Armenian coins, and by stargazers in Japan, Germany, the Byzantine empire, and more.
The last time Halley’s Comet whizzed by the Earth close enough to see with the naked eye was in 1986. Astronomers expect its next appearance will be in July 2061.

(1) (Reply)

Africa – A Future In Innovation, Youth, Industry, And Entrepreneurship / What Is Devops? / I Need A New Blogger Template Please Help

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 9
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.