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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
 Posted - 08/10/2010 : 20:05:57
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Simostronomy: The Stories Behind the August Perseids
Meteor shower fans!
I was going to put this in our weekly summary, but there's no time for that. The August Perseids peak on August 12th.
It's August, so for better or worse, two stories will be making the rounds in the blogosphere. First, is the Mars Hoax email that will not die. I've written about this before, so we won't go there again. Second, is the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs every August.
The Perseids are my favorite meteor shower because the late summer weather is a lot easier to tolerate than some of the cold winter nights other annual showers happen to occur, like the Leonids in November and the Geminids in December.
Every August that the Moon promises not to interfere, we are reminded that this will be the best meteor shower of the year. But there is more to the Perseids than meets the eye and there are some interesting stories behind the Perseids that don't generally get told. I'd like to share some of them with you here.
Let's start with where do meteor showers come from?
We know today that there are streams of particles, called meteoroids, in orbit around the Sun. When the Earth encounters one of these streams, these mostly dust sized particles are trapped by Earth's gravity and burn up as they descend through the atmosphere. The result of this flame-out is a meteor, or what people commonly refer to as "a shooting star."
But where do these streams of meteoroids come from? |
Read on!
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2010 : 00:56:44 [Permalink]
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The weather report for my part of the world doesn't look too shiny. I'm afraid I'll miss it this year.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
 Posted - 08/11/2010 : 05:17:16 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
The weather report for my part of the world doesn't look too shiny. I'm afraid I'll miss it this year.
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If you've seen the movie "The Day Of The Triffids, 1962" it might be a blessing. SS |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2010 : 07:06:28 [Permalink]
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I've seen both the movie and the 1981 TV mini-series. But I'm not afraid.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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The Stories Behind the August Perseids
