Don’t miss the Geminid meteor shower peak
New York, Dec 13: Widely recognised as the best annual meteor shower a stargazer can see, the Geminids are occurring between December 4 to December 17, with the best nights for viewing on December 13 and 14, according to NASA.
Sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere can see Geminids starting around 7.30-8 p.m. local time on Sunday, with rate of meteors increasing as 2 a.m. approaches.
In the Southern hemisphere, good rates will be seen between midnight and dawn local time on Monday, the US space agency wrote in a blog post, adding that Geminid watchers who observe from midnight to 4 a.m. should catch the most meteors.
The parent of the Geminids is 3200 Phaethon, which is arguably considered to be either an asteroid or an extinct comet.
When the Earth passes through trails of dust, or meteoroids, left by 3200 Phaethon, that dust burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating the Geminid meteor shower.
The Geminid rate will be even better this year, as the shower’s peak overlaps with a nearly new Moon, so there will be darker skies and no moonlight to wash out the fainter meteors.
That peak will happen on the night of December 13 into the morning of December 14.
All meteors associated with a shower have similar orbits, and they all appear to come from the same place in the sky, which is called the radiant. The Geminids appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini, hence the name “Geminids”. (IANS)
Flamethrower drone incinerates wasp nests in China
Beijing, Dec 13: A drone has been converted into a flying flamethrower in central China in a fiery campaign to eradicate more than 100 wasp nests.
Blue Sky Rescue, a volunteer group that conducts search and rescue and other emergency work, have teamed up with villagers in Zhong county near the city of Chongqing.
They raised 80,000 yuan ($12,200) to buy a drone and equip it with a gasoline tank and an arm-length nozzle. Videos released by Blue Sky show a recent mission by the six-arm drone.
It hovers above a hive as large as a suitcase before swooping down. The drone operator flips the ignition switch, and the drone spits bursts of fire onto the hive.
“The burning ashes of the wasp’s nest gradually peeled off and fell, and the surrounding residents applauded and praised the rescue team,” said an article on a local news app run by state-owned Chongqing TV.
The article quotes a resident thanking Blue Sky for helping the village: “Now we don’t have to worry about being stung by a wasp.” Blue Sky said it has destroyed 11 hives so far. There are more than 100 to go. (AP)