Eta Aquarids: A May Meteor Shower

A lesser known meteor shower called the Eta Aquarids can be seen during the first week of May  each year.  The Eta Aquarids usually peak on May 5th and the 6th and produce 15 to 20 meteors per hour in a moonless sky. However, this year the moon will be entering its last quarter during the same time frame and may diminish meteor counts.

An interesting aspect to the Eta Aquarids is that they are caused by debris from Halley's Comet.   The next closest approach to Earth by Halley's Comet will be in July 2061, when it will be about 0.48 AU, or about half as much as the distance the Earth is from the Sun. But next week, you will still get to see tiny specks of dust an ice from the famous Halley's Comet as they burn up as they come screaming into the Earth's atmosphere. The debris from Halley's comet does come in a high velocity and these meteors leave bright streaks in the nighttime sky, along with smoke trails.

For the best chance to see any of these meteors, look to the east towards the constellation Aquarius several hours before sunrise.  You can start looking starting on the morning of the 4th, until the morning of the 7th.  Since this meteor shower has a very broad peak you have the chance of seeing a meteor up to a week or two before or after the peak, which is on May 6th.

If you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere, you can expect much higher hourly meteor counts, up to 50 per hour.

Obama Proposes Mission to a Near Earth Asteroid

Forgoing the moon, and possibly a mission to Mars, the Obama administration is proposing that NASA launches a manned mission to an asteroid.

A trip out to the middle of our solar system could take up to 6 months, and possible more.  A manned mission will need to bring along a considerable about of life support equipment to make it out that far.  The spacecraft will also need just a much shielding as a craft used for a Mars Mission.

There are many risks in simply plopping down on any old asteroid. The object may not be stable geologically, and there could also be many smaller pieces of space rock orbiting the asteroid that could cause damage to the spacecraft, even a death.

Asteroids have very little gravitational pull and astronauts will not be able the make "one small step for man" once they land there. They will likely be floating tethered to their landing craft, and may slowly drift toward the asteroid as they step off.

The scientific payoffs could be huge.  Scientists could learn about the early composition of the planets.  And the economic payoff could someday be huge if we were ever able to mine the piece of space rock.  One average sized asteroid holds trillions of dollars worth of metal.

Iceland Volcano and a Fireball across 5 Midwestern States

A volcano eruption in Iceland continues to spew so much ash into the air, that it is beginning to have an effect on air travel across Northern Europe. The Eyjafjallajokul Volcano erupted on March 20th, and there has been an upswing in activity over the past several days. Airport in England, Denmark, and Norway have been shut down due to the ash.

Volcanic ash is extremely dangerous to jet engines. The particulate matter in volcanic ash can be sucked into the jet intakes causing catastrophic damage to the engines.

Meanwhile, a fireball streaked across five mid-western states last night. The fireball was seen over Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. It could likely have just been a fairly large chunk of space rock making an fiery entry into the earth's atmosphere.

Space Shuttle Discovery to Return a Day Late

The Space Shuttle Discovery will return a day late from its latest mission to the International Space Station. Discovery is now scheduled to land on Monday April 19th, at 8:54 AM EDT, which is about 1254 UTC.

The reason for the delay is that Discovery will undergo another inspection of its heat shield. A couple of space walks are still on tap for the crew as they continue to work an an ammonia tank outside of the International Space Station. The shuttle offloaded several tons of equipment, along with a number of new science experiments when it docked with the International Space Station last week.

The shuttle fleet is due to be retired in the fall of 2010, and with only three remaining missions on tap for the shuttle program, Monday's landing will be one of your last chances to see the shuttle land. It will be sad to see the program retired, but it is about time NASA start incorporating new technologies into the space program.

Budget cuts by the Obama Administration will make this task more difficult, but this is going to be a challenge that will be faced by all government agencies in the coming years.