If the weather lasts and the right conditions are met in space, Manitoba will be able to see a spectacular meteor shower on Monday night.
Scott Young, a planetary astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, said a very significant meteor shower was likely to be seen.
“There is a possibility and I emphasize the possibility of a big meteor burst. In principle, there will be a whole bunch of shooting stars at once, “said Young. “The reason it’s possible is the source of this particular meteor shower, it’s not an ordinary comet – it’s a comet that has disintegrated, so it’s in all these parts, which is good if it comes in our direction. But since it has fallen apart, we can’t be sure it will be close enough to cause these things. “
Young said that if the event happened, we could see thousands of meteors per hour, which would be “10 times better” than any other meteor event in recent history.
Unfortunately, Young said people would not understand until that actually happened.
He said the comet first disintegrated in 1995 and the cloud of space dust it left behind became wider and wider over the years. But if the debris doesn’t move fast enough, then nothing will happen.
“So the idea is that the earth will hit the edge of the cloud of debris on Monday night – there is a lot of solid science behind it, but it’s basically a mathematical prediction. Whether it happens or not, it will actually be a really good test of our understanding of how these comets and meteor showers work once they disintegrate in this way. It’s a good way to advance science, and if it happens, it will be a fun thing to watch. “
Young said that even if the conditions are met in space, Manitoba will depend on the weather whether people will be able to see it or not, as the forecast is for rain, which will bring a lot of clouds.
“All this activity is happening above cloud level. So if it’s raining here on earth, you won’t see anything.”
If the weather clears, Young suggests that people move away from the city lights and find a dark place, as this will give the best opportunity to see a soul.
If the cloud cover remains, there is a different way the Manitoba Museum plans to find the meteors.
“The museum will make a live broadcast and if it is clear, we will have a camera. If it is not clear, we will actually use radio detection. If you listen to a radio station that is too far to pick up, every once in a while when a meteor passes, the radio waves will bounce off the meteor and you can hear the radio station for a second. So we can actually hear the meteors with a radio station. “
If the shower happens, it should start around 11:45 pm on Monday and continue until around 1:15 am on Tuesday.
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