Wednesday, January 3, 2007

What the Moon brings...

January's full moon has many names. "Wolf Moon", "Quiet Moon", and the "Moon After Yule" are just some of the names attributed to the first full moon in January.

The evening of Jan 3/4 also marks the peak of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower. This shower tends to be brief, with a sharply defined peak. If lucky, sometimes you can see a mini-burst of meteors--up to 100/hr. I like the Quadrantids, because they fall almost smack-dab on my birthday! But for my location, this shower is a bit of a challenge, usually because it's rather cold outside. Also this year, the full moon comes pretty close to the peak, making observation even more a challenge.

For an excellent summary of this months astronomical events, check out Dick Cookman's feature in Cloudy Nights.

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