Night sky viewing in North Carolina, meteor showers in October, and is it a fireball or a UFO?

Whether you are a romantic, an amateur astronomer, a nature lover, or just enjoy looking up, there will be some great viewing in the night skies through early November.

The WXII12 Weather Team members are often asked, “What’s that bright light I just saw way up yonder?” To help you prepare for some of the shooting stars and fireballs from the upcoming meteor showers, we have some links and details to share. And what if you think you’ve spotted a UFO or the harder-to-roll-off-the-tongue- UAP (Unidentified Flying Objects-UFOs and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-UAPs)?

Keep reading and I’ll share those links with you, too.

METEOR SHOWERS

First, the Draconid meteor shower will be at peak Sunday into Monday.

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You may also see two more meteor showers depending on where you are peering into the night sky. Most showers are named for where the meteor shower appears to be radiating from in the galaxy. We have the Taurid and Orionid meteor showers also on display through early November, providing terrestrial weather conditions remain mostly clear on the nights you plan to gaze at the night sky.

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For the best viewing, it’s often suggested to start a watch party after midnight as far away from city lights with a clear view of the night sky.

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One of our local amateur astronomers, Randy Carter, has a passion for astrophotography and is able to capture images like this one of the Western Veil Nebula in the Cygnus constellation using a camera attached to his telescope.

Carter has been awared the Astronomical Leaguge Comet Observer’s Club Silver Level for observing more than twelve different comets.

LOCAL ASTRONOMY GROUPS & UPCOMING EVENTS

We have wonderful resources here in North Carolina. In the Piedmont Triad, the Forsyth Astronomical Society and Cline Observatory at Guilford Technical Community College offer public night sky viewing sessions at certain times of the year. The group’s next community outreach is on Saturday, Oct. 14 for the Partial Solar Eclipse in Winston-Salem.

The Forsyth Astronomical Society also welcomes anyone to attend meetings on the second Wednesday of the month at Kaleideum North in Winston-Salem. They had me at doughnuts…

Astronomers at Cline Observatory at Guilford Technical Community College hold public night sky viewings from their observatory on clear Friday nights. You’ll have a chance to peer through their telescope to view star clusters, nebulae, planets, and the moon. They will also host a free event for the partial solar eclipse at the GTCC Jamestown campus. The best place to check for whether the public viewings will be held or not due to weather conditions is by checking their GTCCASTRO X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, account.

NIGHT SKY VIEWING LINKS

The Night Sky Viewing Network can help you learn more about astronomy and connect you with local clubs.

NASA has incredible images and a night sky map to help you get your bearings before viewing the universe.

There are so many amazing photos and science discoveries to delve into that you might feel starry-eyed after checking out these links for the James Webb Telescope and Hubble Telescope.

The Forsyth Astronomical Society has a great resource page for anyone interested in astronomy, from how to view the night sky and what type of telescope to use.

Fireballs

Some meteor showers produce bright fireballs that may be seen even during the day. Learn more about these flashy events and report your sighting, check out the American Meteor Society.

Another bright object that’s seen in the sky is the International Space Station. According to NASA scientists, the ISS travels at 17,500 miles per hour and orbits the Earth every hour and a half. You can use Spot the Station link here to find out the best viewing times where you live.

UFOs and UAPs

Here’s the latest from NASA on helping rule out explained phenomena from what might be a UFO or UAP. If you’re like me, you may have grown up watching «Dr. Who,» along with the iconic «Brady Bunch» UFO television episode. So anything is possible, am I right? Whether you are convinced UFOs or UAPs belong to Hollywood and not to science, or not, the following link provides you with an interesting history on the subject. The National Archives has a collection of news items about the United States of America’s investigations into UFOs and UAPs.

I hope the weather cooperates for all of your night sky viewing. Of course, you can find your forecast here to prepare for your outings.