Northern Lights, a rare comet and more: October night sky was busy. What’s to come?
From a readily visible comet to a regularly scheduled supermoon, October’s night sky was busier than usual, topped off with the Northern Lights making an appearance above the Winchester area.
But if you missed the aurora borealis memo, fear not. More opportunities to witness an uncommonly colored sky — and other worthwhile astronomical sights — are likely to arise before the year is through.
“There are things happening in the night sky all the time, but there’s no predicting what, where or when,” said Stephen Shank, vice president of the Middletown-based Shenandoah Astronomical Society.
“As an astronomer that I used to see on TV would always say: Keep looking up.”
Strong solar storms have caused regional skies to glow with hues of pinks, purples, blues and greens, normally only on display farther north. The Northern Lights could be seen in mid-October in the Northern Shenandoah Valley region, especially by those who live away from city lights.
“Are they predictable? No,” said Shank, a Frederick County resident. “There is, of course, a higher probability we’ll be seeing more Northern Lights in the upcoming year than we have in the past few years.”
Driving the atypical sightings is the sun’s current state of “solar maximum,” during which its north and south poles switch places, as they do every 11 years, Shank explained. This generates a great deal of magnetic activity within the sun, causing more sunspots, which produce coronal mass ejections. “Highly energized particles” from those ejections are what cause the Northern Lights, according to Shank.
There are various apps that people can download on their cellphones
There are various apps that people can download on their cellphones to track when the Northern Lights might dazzle the sky. Shank uses a free one called Aurora, which provides a scientific rating each day indicating the likelihood of the appearance of Northern Lights in particular regions.
And when it comes to actually seeing the lights, Shank and others have recommended pointing one’s cellphone camera at the sky, facing north.
“The detecting device in a camera is much more sensitive than what the human eye is to dim light,” the longtime astronomy enthusiast explained.
And the same goes for viewing comets.
It is “pretty much a rarity” to be able to spot a comet with the naked eye, according to Shank. But one of those rarities recently passed over the area.
A comet, which has been labeled Tsuchinshan-Atlas by scientists, made a relatively close approach at Earth in early October at 44 million miles away. It remained clearly visible for about two weeks, though longer for those with binoculars and telescopes, according to Shank. It was most visible about an hour after sunset toward the west.
As the comet continues on its journey, it won’t sling by our planet again for another 80,000 years, astronomers say.
“Comets are basically giant, dirty snowballs that are attracted to the center of our solar system because of our sun’s mass,” Shank said. He went on to say that the streaming tail often depicted behind comets is the debris coming off the surface.
Possibly the most well-known comet is Halley’s Comet, as it is easy to notice without professional equipment and passes near Earth about every 75 years. The next time Halley’s will be around is in 2061. Recently, though, an annual meteor shower was triggered by the famous comet.
Meteor shower
The Orionids, a meteor shower caused by Earth passing through Halley’s trail, peaked on the night of Oct. 20 and the early morning of Oct. 21. It is expected to continue through Nov. 22, according to the American Meteor Society.
NASA says there are about 30 noticeable meteor showers each year, caused by Earth passing through a comet’s or asteroid’s trail of debris.
The meteor society maintains a calendar of upcoming showers: amsmeteors.org. The next one to peak will be the Southern Taurid meteor shower in early November, according to the list.
Supermoon
Three supermoons have occurred this year, with the most recent lighting up the night sky on Oct. 17. And before 2024 is through, one more is projected to appear. Three to four is pretty typical in a year, according to NASA.
Supermoons are when the moon is full and looks larger than usual. This happens because the moon is on an oval-shaped orbit around Earth, Shank explained. When the moon is along the part of its path that cuts closest to the Earth, it looks bigger than usual to Earth’s inhabitants. The moon also must be in the full phase of its cycle to be considered a supermoon, Shank said.
Though the abnormally-sized — and extra bright — type of moon seems to get a great deal of attention for its beauty and noticeability, Shank indicated that there are far more interesting nighttime occurrences, scientifically speaking, than the supermoon. The supermoon is consistent, predictable and easy to understand, after all.
But if you’re excited to see a supermoon, the final one of the year is coming on Nov. 15.
Where to stargaze
For those who are interested in casual stargazing, Shank listed several local spots where professional equipment and expert advice is available.
About once a month, the Shenandoah Astronomical Society facilitates an observation at Frederick County Middle School. Two research-grade telescopes owned by Frederick County Public Schools are on-hand at the sessions, in addition to the various viewing tools that the experts and hobbyists from the society bring with them.
Though the goal is to meet once a month, the gathering is sometimes plagued with weather adversities, like rain or clouds. Shank recommends following the Facebook page of Frederick County Middle School or the Shenandoah Astronomical Society for updates.
Northern Virginia Astronomy Club hosts frequent “star parties.” One is scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Sky Meadows State Park, which is roughly 20 miles and a 30-minute drive from Winchester. Learn more about the club’s events at novac.com.
Morgan County Observatory, which is about 30 miles from Winchester in West Virginia, is another good place to go for public astronomy events, according to Shank. For more information, visit: morgancountyobservatory.org.
Lastly, the Shenandoah Astronomical Society holds its own “star parties” at Cedar Creek National Historic Park, Shenandoah County Park and other nearby places when the weather is warm and the skies are clear. Members have paused their events in light of chilly weather arriving, but plan to publicize them again when spring hits.
“I’m just happy to see people come out,” Shank said. “… The ‘wow’s are phenomenal.”
