dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (10/09/84)
Tonight's full Hunter's Moon won't help people trying to watch meteors. More about the Hunter's Moon and a meteor shower -- right after this. October 9 The Hunter's Moon and the Giacobinids Tuesday evening, the full moon rises in the east around sunset. Since the Harvest Moon was last month, this full moon bears the name Hunter's Moon. The Harvest Moon and the Hunter's Moon both come around the time of the autumn equinox. These full moons look entirely or nearly full for several nights in a row. Last month, the extra light of the full moon may have been helpful to some farmers bringing in the harvest. This month, the moon is supposed to help hunters. Well, maybe so. But the full moon in the sky these few nights won't help skywatchers trying to glimpse the famous Giacobinid meteor shower. These meteors are bits of debris from Comet Giacobini-Zinner -- the same comet due to be encountered by a NASA spacecraft in September of next year. Most meteor showers are named for the constellation from which they appear to radiate -- and the Giacobinids are sometimes called the Draconids, since they radiate from the constellation Draco. But these particular meteors tend to follow close behind their comet -- and so they're often called the Giacobinids in its honor. During years when the comet is nearby, the Giacobinid meteor shower can be very spectacular. Comet Giacobini-Zinner will be in our vicinity next year -- so 1985 may be a good year for the Giacobinid meteor shower. That's lucky -- because this year the peak of the shower is Tuesday morning -- and the full Hunter's Moon will wash out all but the brightest meteors. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin