| Where Have You Been All My Life, June Boötids?!
This Friday marks the peak of the minor meteor shower known as the Boötids (radiant in the constellation Boötes).
According to other—less fun—astronomy news sources, the Boötids can, on rare and unpredictable occasions, produce a flurry of meteors. But in a typical year, they’re about as unproductive as a meteor shower can be. Like, one per hour. (“Unproductive” being this correspondent’s generous choice of words.)
You heard me—ONE meteor.
Which, frankly, poses an interesting observing challenge. Wouldn’t it be fun to catch the Boötids at their most meager, and be one of the few to spot those elusive solo streaks? Or even to catch ZERO meteors some hours of the night? It might be the meteor shower equivalent of liking a band before they were cool. (I definitely want that Boötids Zero-to-One t-shirt!)
I leave it to you, dear Happenings readers, to take up the mantle… or not?
In the meantime, while you’re planning your Friday night, here’s what’s happening this week:
- New Member Orientation: Cancelled
- LLCC June Observing Weekend
- Submit your astrophotography images for the August meeting!
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