Draconid Meteor Outburst Underway

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 8, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR OUTBURST: Radars in Canada are reporting a major outburst of Draconid meteors commencing at 16 UT on Oct. 8th. "Radar rates are at 1000 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of NASA' Meteoroid Environment Office. "This is greater than last year's outburst, and 5x the 2005 level."

Cooke encourages northern sky watchers, especially in Europe where night is falling, to be alert for Draconid activity.  Because radars are sensitive to very small meteoroids, there is no guarantee that this radar outburst will translate into meteors visible to the human eye.  On the other hand, a brilliant display could be in progress.  The only way to know is to go outside and look.  Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

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Possible Comet Outburst in Progress

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 8, 2010: http://spaceweather.com

POSSIBLE COMET OUTBURST: A comet discovered just a few days ago by amateur astronomers in Japan is gliding by Saturn in the pre-dawn sky. Comet Ikeya-Murakami (C/2010 V1) is not visible to the unaided eye, but observers say it is a fairly easy target for backyard telescopes. Images obtained over the weekend reveal what appears to be an outburst in progress. The comet's coma (atmosphere) bears a striking resemblance to the coma of Comet Holmes, which famously exploded in 2007. Check http://spaceweather.com for photos and more information.

SOLAR ACTIVITY UPDATE: After unleashing one of the brightest X-ray flares in years on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 6th, sunspot 1121 took Sunday off. No strong flares were recorded for the rest of the weekend. Nevertheless, the active region's magnetic field is complex and harbors energy for more eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate an 85% chance of M-flares during the next 24 hours.

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Perseid Meteor Outburst

Source - Space Weather News for Aug. 4, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

POSSIBLE PERSEID METEOR OUTBURST: This year's Perseid meteor shower could be even better than usual. According to NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, a filament of comet dust has drifted across Earth's path and when Earth passes through it, sometime between 0800 and 0900 UT (1 - 2 am PDT) on August 12th, the Perseid meteor rate could surge to twice its normal value. Check http://spaceweather.com for details and observing tips.

PERSEIDS ON YOUR iPHONE: Spaceweather.com is pleased to announce a new iPhone/iPod application dedicated to the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. It features a Perseid countdown clock, news alerts, an easy-to-use sky map, and a live gallery of photos from around the world. Sky watchers of all types will find it a valuable companion when the shower peaks later this month.

Learn more: http://spaceweather.com/perseids

Download the app: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=325305245&mt=8