Looks like it might be time to bundle up, grab a hot cup of coco and pray for clear skies!
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Skywatchers, grab your blankets. December’s night sky spectacular will feature the best meteor shower of 2010 as well as the only total lunar eclipse of the year – sights that should outshine any New Year’s Eve fireworks display in terms of sheer wonder.
The massive Geminid meteor showerreturns every year, so you’ll have more chances if the cold proves too daunting on the night of Dec. 13. But anyone in North America who skips the total lunar eclipse on the night of Dec. 20 will be missing what promises to be the best lunar eclipse show until April 2014.
This year’s Geminid meteor shower is expected to be the best display of so-called “shooting stars” of the year and will peak during the overnight hours of Dec. 13 and Dec. 14.
Dazzling Geminid meteor shower
Like most meteor showers, the Geminids will be at their best after midnight (early on the morning of Dec. 14), when the Earth is heading directly into the meteoroid stream. But some will be visible earlier in the night, on the evening of Dec. 13, because the meteors’ radiant (where they appear to originate) is nearly circumpolar, so they will stay in view above the horizon all night.
Anyone venturing outside should dress much more warmly than normal to prepare for a long night vigil while sitting still.
Don’t forget to get comfortable: A lawn chair with a reclining back and a blanket or sleeping bag should keep skywatchers snug — no binoculars or telescope are necessary.
Most meteor showers are caused by fragments of old comets scattered along a comet’s orbit. When the Earth passes through a comet’s orbit, it sweeps up the fragments, which become visible as bright streaks of light in the atmosphere.
The Geminid shower is unique in being associated not with a comet, but with an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.
The Geminids’ radiant is, as the name implies, in the direction of the constellation Gemini, just north of the northernmost of Gemini’s two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux. In the early evening of Dec. 13, the radiant is low in the northeast. By 1 a.m. EST, after the date has changed to Dec. 14, the radiant is almost directly overhead. By 6.a.m. EST, when the shower is at its peak in the Eastern Time Zone, the radiant is low in the west.
Moon’s holiday treat
The December holiday sky show doesn’t end with the Geminid meteor shower. On the nights of Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, parts of four continents will be treated to a total eclipse of the moon — the only one to occur in 2010.
The last total lunar eclipse occurred on Feb. 20, 2008. While there are two total lunar eclipses in 2011, North American skywatchers will have to wait until April 2014 for one as potentially spectacular as the eclipse occurring this month.
Lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes through a point in its orbit in which the Earth is directly between it and the sun. When the moon enters the shadow of Earth, it creates a lunar eclipse. Unlike a solar eclipse, no precautions to protect the eyes are needed.
Lunar eclipse skywatching tips
For the Western Hemisphere, the eclipse will “officially” begin on Dec. 21 at 12:29 a.m. EST (9:29 p.m. PST on Dec. 20) as the moon begins to enter Earth’s outer, or penumbral, shadow.
As for the Geminid meteor shower, don’t forget to dress warm. But you won’t be outside all night moongazing. This total lunar eclipse lasts only 72 minutes from start to finish.
But even in clear weather, skywatchers will not notice any changes in the moon’s appearance until about 45 minutes into the event, when a slight “smudge,” or shading, begins to become evident on the upper left portion of the moons disk.
The entire total lunar eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America, the northern and western parts of Europe, and a small part of northeast Asia, including Korea and much of Japan.
Totality will also be visible in its entirety from the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii. In all, an estimated 1.5 billion people will have an opportunity to enjoy the best part of this lunar show.
In other parts of the world, only the partial stages of the eclipse will be visible or the eclipse will occur when it’s daytime and the moon is not above their local horizon.
Portions of western Africa and central Europe can catch the opening stages of the eclipse before the moon sets below the horizon during the morning hours of Dec. 21, while the eastern third of Asia and central and eastern Australia can catch the closing stages just after moonrise on the evening of Dec. 21.
December’s total lunar eclipse and Geminid meteor shower promise to ring the year 2010 out with a dazzling show, weather permitting, this holiday season. But bundle up and stay warm!
Looking for a fun, exciting snowshoeing event to participate in? Why not grab a friend and come on out to the Romp to Stomp Snowshoe Event. There are several Romp to Stomp events planned throughout the country and one might even be in your neck of the woods! It’s a day of fun, friends and fund raising. So grab your snowshoes and hit the trail with a friend and be prepared for a great day of laughter!
About The Romp to Stomp
Since its inception in 2003, the Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series® has engaged nearly 23,000 people in the sport of snowshoeing and raised more than 1.2 MILLION DOLLARS for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®!
Modeled after the highly successful Race for the Cure®, the Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer consists of a 3k or 5k snowshoe walk or a 3k snowshoe race.
The Romp to Stomp event has grown every year and now is the largest snowshoe series in the world.
To find a Romp To Stomp event in your area- click here
The gorgeous snowshoe course, fun atmosphere, and FREE demo snowshoes* from Tubbs helps to attract participants of all levels. Nearly 25% of participants have never snowshoed before!
With ongoing partnerships with the local affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the Tubbs Romp to Stomp is committed to helping stomp out breast cancer one snowshoe step at a time!
About: Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is now the world’s largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with nearly $1.5 billion invested to date. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
A long-time Romp to Stomp favorite, the Women’s Wilderness is packed with features to make it a great day hiking snowshoe. The Wilderness is available in multiple lengths, so if you plan to venture off trail or into deep snow, you can the appropriate size snowshoe to maximize your flotation. The innovative and biomechanically designed Fit-Step™ frame on the Wilderness, designed with a slightly upturned, rounded tail, coupled with the easy-to-use 180™ binding with step-in convenience, make the Wilderness a great versatile tool for all-day treks in the outdoors.
Attention all climbing enthusiasts, adventure buffs and the like: The true beginning of autumn is bringing in a slew of must-see / must-do events in Upper Michigan that are sure to pique your interest and satisfy the risk-taker within. Here’s a list of programs offered September 30 – October 3, presented by Down Wind Sports and the Great Lakes Section of the Alpine Club:
sept. 30 Slide show with Mike Libecki (Houghton, MI)
sept. 30 “180° South: Conquerors of the Useless” (Marquette, MI)
oct. 1 Slide show with Mike Libecki (Marquette, MI)
oct. 1 “Climbing: A Forty Year Perspective,” with Mark Wilford (Marquette, MI)
oct. 2 AAA wall climbing, shoe demo, vendor booths, slacklining and camping (Marquette, MI)
oct. 3 Little Presque Isle bouldering tour (Marquette, MI)
A movie, an ace climber, vendors and just plain climbing all packed into a long weekend – doesn’t get much better. For more information call 906-226-7112.
Quick: Mountain biking, or road biking? Can’t choose, or consider yourself more of an admirer of bikes than a rider of them?
Cyclocross may be your solution to this dilemma. With its ever-increasing popularity in both the biking world and its spectator counterpart, cyclocross combines aspects of mountain biking and road racing, and throws in a bit of running for some added difficulty, er, fun!
While the sport’s exact origins appear somewhat ambiguous – some site a French soldier at the end of the 19th century who rode his bike over rough countryside terrain in winter to stay fit, and others paint a picture of 20th century European cyclists racing from one town to the next, over farms in the off-season – cyclocross made its way into the American scene in the 70s. It’s been growing ever since.
Given the cyclocross season begins right around the time many mountain and road bikers are winding down their race seasons and getting ready to hang up their bikes, picking up a few cyclocross races here and there throughout the fall and winter is an excellent way to keep your body tuned up for the regular riding season. Some riders have converted exclusively to cyclocross racers, making it their main sport and season.
Technical and hard, a typical cyclocross course offers a mixture of paved and off-road sections, flat and rolling sections, severe inclines and descents and man-made obstacles that force the rider to make split-decisions on whether to ride or dismount and run – bike thrown over shoulder. Much like a criterium, a cyclocross race length is typically determined by a number of laps or total time. It’s not for the faint of heart and is certainly a test of aerobic endurance, but you don’t have to be the über-competitive athlete to take on the challenge. Just as many riders race for the fun of it.
And if you’re not ready to take that test quite yet and you’d rather watch the dirt fly and the bikes being flung over mud-crusted shoulders, then cyclocross is a super exciting sport to participate in as pure spectator.
Already underway, the cyclocross season will culminate for the second consecutive year in Bend, OR for the 2010 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships Dec. 8-12.
Check out these sites to find races in your region and across the country:
New fall products are on their way and we’d like to give you, our customers, a warm welcome as you transition from summer to autumn.
Take advantage of our promotion and save 25% on all your Namaste purchases now through Sept. 15, 2010. Simply enter promo code “grand25” and you’ll be on your way to savings.
Now there’s only one thing left to do: Shop!
The Restless Woman is a series that highlights real women whose innate desire to be active, to travel, explore and to just be free, lets them put their minds and bodies to the test. Where they find themselves (the studio, the park, abroad) and what they find themselves doing there, influences their next move. Full of wanderlust and curiosity, these women embody calm in motion.
in the real world
Marquette, MI
I am a senior at Northern Michigan University. During the school year I work at Third Street Bagel. During the summers I live and work as a nanny in Vail, Colorado.
activity of choice
White water kayaking, stand up paddling, mountain and road biking, Nordic and alpine skiing and swimming.
when it all began
I’ve been very active all of my life. I started to ski when I was two years old and I grew up alpine ski racing. Three years ago I moved to Colorado and learned to white water kayak. After falling in love with the river, I decided to try stand up paddling. I fell in love with it and now I SUP wherever I can find water and a board. I enjoy SUPing because it’s a great full body workout. I also like that I can take my board out on a hard section of the river, or I can take it on a calm lake and relax. It’s a great sport for all ages and abilities!
a week in the life
During the summer I am on the river as much as possible. During the winter I am at the gym 5-6 days a week, but in the summer I stay busy mountain biking, kayaking and paddle boarding.
best/worst part
I love learning new things about the sport everyday. There are several different strokes and braces, and I’m always learning.
I wish that I could go on the river alone, but it’s not safe to do anything on the river without a partner – you just never know when a freak accident will happen (the river’s safe, but it’s a good rule to follow). Unfortunately, this holds me back a lot because I have a hard time finding people to go with.
free advice
Try it! It’s a lot of fun. You can SUP on a lake, ocean or river! If you wish to take your paddleboard on the river or on rough water, you should take a lesson. There are several different strokes and braces that will help you become a more efficient paddler.
coveted locale
The Colorado River and Lake Superior.
completed
2010 Noquemanon Ski Marathon (Freestyle Half Marathon)
in the works
Once the snow falls I will start training for the Noquemanon Ski Marathon. Until then I’m enjoying my time on the rivers. I can’t wait to get back to Marquette and paddle on Lake Superior!
the why
I love being on the water! There is something about it that makes me feel very comfortable and at ease.
