I'm reading Steve Martini's book "Critical Mass", about the theft of a couple of nuclear weapons from a Russian storage area. Have seen Facebook posts about the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks tonight, with a hyped-up heading saying one might hit earth the day before the election. Of course, none are expected to be big enough to be dangerous. But it caused me to think about what would happen if non-small asteroid did hit an area where nuclear weapons are stored. Scary.
https://www.space.com/orionid-meteor-shower-2020-peaking-now
By Doris Elin Urrutia
Oct. 20, 2020
It is recommended to view a dark sky for at least an hour to spot a shooting star.
The Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight into tomorrow morning (Oct. 20-21), and the moon will be dim enough that skygazers might be able to see one or several of these shooting stars.
The bright streaks across the sky that people may see from now until early November are bits and pieces from Halley's comet. Although the comet won't be visible from Earth again until about four decades from now, it leaves behind a debris path in the solar system. And each year during mid-October, the Earth passes through this field. Our planet also passes through another part of this debris field in early May, resulting in the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.
•••••
No comments:
Post a Comment