Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Gaming thread 10/6/13 | Main | Overnight Open Thread (10-6-2013) »
October 06, 2013

Spaced Out Challenge: The False Dawn and the Dragon's Fire

Two-for-one in this week's edition: an evening meteor shower and...

zodiacal.jpg

Zodiacal light as seen over the Arizona Astronomy Village

When false dawn streaks the east with cold, gray line,
Pour in your cups the pure blood of the vine;
The truth, they say, tastes bitter in the mouth,
This is a token that the "Truth " is wine.

-Omar Khayyam, The Rubaiyat

With the moon not hanging around in the early morning to ruin things, your best chance to catch this elusive wedge of light runs now through October 16th.

Let me show you how.


The Zodiacal Light
What is the zodiacal light?
From S&T's excellent series of articles on the topic:

Though certain times of year are better for seeing the zodiacal light (the alignment of the ecliptic matters, as do moonless skies), it’s always there, ringing the sky along the plane of the solar system. The zodiacal light is actually sunlight, scattering off a thick pancake-shaped cloud of dust motes floating in the inner solar system...
ZodiacalLight_Diag_275.jpg

illustration by S&T/ Casey Reed

The dust grains are so much larger than the wavelength of the visible light they’re scattering that they tend to scatter the light forward, bumped only a slight angle from the direction it was already travelling. Most of the zodiacal light comes from dust inside Earth’s orbit, which is why the zodiacal light appears brightest nearest the Sun, and fades as you travel upward along the ecliptic.

Tips
First, find a dark spot. A rule of thumb is if the Milky Way is obvious down to the horizon, you're set. Refer to the Perseid meteor thread for a master list of just such sites for every state.

Second, set your alarm or jazz yourself up on Red Bull: the phenomena materializes about one to two hours before true dawn, so that's about 4:00 to 4:30am for most of you reading this.

Third, remember: it can be subtle and elusive. Many experienced astronomers have even mistaken it for light pollution, so you may have already seen it but had no clue what this strange wedge was. Now that you do though, skip out of the city, and if you can catch it in its full glory, you'll see why it found its way into poetry nearly a thousand years ago.

The Draconid Meteor Shower
Sometimes a boom, sometimes a bust, the Dragon's Fire is a nice one for folks who can't burn the midnight oil for the Perseids, peaking about an hour or so after evening twilight. I counted a total of eight during a long observation session last evening in the San Bernardino Mountains. You'll likely catch at least a few tonight through Wednesday, peak is tomorrow night:

11Oct08a_430.jpg

Star map by Earthsky

Dark Sky Meter App UPDATE
A big thanks to the 'rons and 'ettes who downloaded and used the app this past week. A nice bump of updates have come in across the US, and since this app isn't advertised that frequently, I think I know a particular group of hobohunters and valurite drinkers who contributed a bit to that.

I'm a bit exhausted from the aforementioned observing session last night, so this week's edition will be ending rather abruptly. The master index to all SOC posts, including the Buyer's Guide and Observing Under the Washed Out Sky can be found here. Follow me on twitter @conartcritic, and if you have any personal astro-imagery, product recommendations or tips, please send them to theonandonlyfinn (at) gmail.com. Until next time, clear skies to you and keep looking up!

digg this
posted by CAC at 06:33 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Leupold: "Meh, I'm not going to hold someone not endorsing a ..."

nurse ratched, garbage: "I wanted Rittenhouse to walk, but he showed himsel ..."

Orson: "StarLink? Posted by: ShainS -- I heard that James ..."

thatcrazyjerseyguy: "Rememner when pretty women were in NYC? == w ..."

[/i][/i][/b][/b]Christopher R Taylor[/i][/i][/b][/b]: "[i]So it is an acquittal on the first charge.[/i] ..."

Ace of Spaces Stylebook: "Now there's a Star Trekian name for you. Posted b ..."

Hour of the Wolf - Remember Vic and VNN!: "Concerned Citizen @BGatesIsaPyscho 🇧 ..."

Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd: "Didn't Kyle Rittenhouse go out of his to not endor ..."

Cheri: "Hey Yoran, did you look into the life of the 86 ye ..."

Axeman: "The judge does look like a "deviated pre-vert" to ..."

Leupold: "He, Kyle Rittenhouse, and Nick Sandmann ought to p ..."

Dr Pork Chops & Bacons: "Concerned Citizen @BGatesIsaPyscho 🇧 ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64