Spooky Views

Spooky Views Spooky Views

Tonight is Frosty Drew Observatory's annual Spooky Views event! In celebration of Halloween, Frosty Drew Nature Center and Observatory will be in full swing creep-out mode with spooky props and Erie sounds. Considering that tonight's forecast is calling for clear skies and excellent conditions, we are in for a fabulous night of ghoulish chills and macabre freak outs. Add in that Near Earth Asteroid 2015 TB145 will be closing its approach to Earth tonight, and we will have a true night to remember.

The Observatory, Sky Theatre, and Nature Center opens at 6:30 p.m. tonight. In the Observatory, telescopes will showcase planetary nebulae, the death throes of Sun-like stars. The 87% waning gibbous Moon rises at 8:49 p.m. after which we will direct our telescopes towards the lunar surface. Later in the night, the constellation Taurus will rise higher in the sky, which is where Asteroid TB145 will be approaching from. We will direct our large 16” telescope towards the asteroid and try to catch a live view of the behemoth for all to see. The Nature Center will be open until 10:00 p.m. tonight with naturalists on hand to showcase the darker side of nature. In the Sky Theatre, we will feature our astrophoto showcase with warm temps to escape the cold. Candy and frightful scares will be available until we pack it in, which probably won't be until well after midnight.

Overall, tonight looks like a fabulous Halloween Eve! We have clear skies, spooky props, and a Near Earth Asteroid to observe. So grab your friends and family, put on that costume or just come as your creepy self, and head out to the spooky dark of Ninigret Park and have a frightful night out under the stars at Frosty Drew, tonight!

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Happenings Scott MacNeill

Tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m., a rather large asteroid will pass Earth at a mere 300,000 miles distant. The asteroid is called 2015 TB145, it's a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA), and it will be visible in mid-sized telescopes overnight tonight! Measuring in about 1,300 feet in diameter, TB145 was discovered in October 10, 2015. Though a close pass indeed, at 1.3 times the distance of the Moon, there is no danger to all of us inhabitants of planet Earth. This passing will make for an excellent Halloween addition and views will certainly be had at Frosty Drew Observatory tonight.

This coming week, the annual Taurid Meteor Shower will peak. Occurring overnight Wednesday, November 4th into Thursday, November 5th a slight uptick in shooting stars will be visible. Though the Taurid shower is not all that great in itself, only producing upwards of 7 meteors per hour, Earth may pass through a region of the source debris field with larger than average objects. When this happens, we see a large increase in fireball meteors from October 28th – November 10th.

Fireball meteors are very bright, long lasting meteors that can visibly break apart as they cross the sky and are usually bright enough to light up the observers landscape. The last occurrence of Taurid fireballs happened in 2005 and the same astronomer, David Asher of the Armagh Observatory in Ireland, that made the 2005 prediction is predicting another occurrence this year!

The Taurid Meteor Shower comes from a debris field left behind by Comet Encke, a periodic comet with an orbital period around the Sun of 3.3 years. Comet Encke leaves behind rather dense filaments of debris that run through its larger debris field. When Earth encounters one of these filaments, the likelihood of increased fireball meteor activity increases significantly.

If predictions hold true, we could see a fabulous Halloween treat of bright fireball meteors streaking by as we finish up our tricks or treats. Fireball meteors are bright and are difficult to miss. Keep an eye on the stars while reveling in Halloween festivities and perhaps catch site of a fabulous shooting star!

Happy Halloween from all of us astro-geeks at Frosty Drew Observatory!

-Scott

For further information, contact Frosty Drew at: astronomer@frostydrew.org