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The Beaver Moon, Planetary Pairings, and the Cosmic Ray Mystery · Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

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  Howdy Stargazers, and welcome to this episode of Star Trails.
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  I'm Drew, and I'll be your guide to the night sky for the week starting November 10th to
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  the 16th.
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  This week we welcome another full supermoon.
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  Mercury makes its presence known.
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  Jupiter and Saturn take turns dancing with the moon and we're on the cusp of the Leonids,
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  the king of meteor showers.
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  And later in the show, we'll take a look at the high speed particles that sometimes cause
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  astronauts to see light with their eyes closed, cosmic rays.
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  So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky and let's get started.
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  We kick things off with the moon.
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  We'll be in the first quarter phase on November the 10th.
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  That means the moon will be more than 50% illuminated, making this a great time to view
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  its craters and mountains in sharp relief.
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  Then on November 15th, we'll have the full moon known as the beaver moon.
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  This name comes from Native American and early colonial traditions, marking the time when
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  beavers start preparing for winter, safely tucked away in their lodges after gathering
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  food.
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  November's full moon was a sign that it was time to finish up the preparations for the
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  colder months.
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  It's also sometimes called the frost moon or the snow moon as it typically coincides
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  with the first signs of winter.
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  This full moon will peak in the afternoon on November 15th, but it will be bright and
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  striking throughout the nights of the 15th and the 16th, so be sure to look up and enjoy
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  the site.
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  The beaver moon is the last of four straight super moons we've had this year, so it will
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  be especially large and bright.
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  On the evening of November 10th, look for Saturn, just a pinky-wit the way from the
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  moon in the southeastern sky.
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  This pairing will be quite close, creating a fantastic sight for binoculars or a small
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  telescope.
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  Saturn will stay visible through most of the night in the constellation Aquarius.
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  Even on November 16th, Jupiter gets its turn next to the moon.
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  Jupiter will be rising in the east around 6.30pm, and by early evening you'll be able
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  to spot it shining bright near the nearly full moon.
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  Jupiter will be visible alongside some iconic winter constellations including Taurus and
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  Orion, making it easy to find.
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  Mars is also making an appearance, although it rises later at night.
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  You can catch it in the early morning sky before dawn, glowing with its distinctive reddish
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  color.
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  And keep an eye out as Mars continues to brighten over the coming months.
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  For those with a clear horizon, Venus will be low on the western horizon shortly after
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  sunset, though it stays close to the horizon and fades quickly.
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  If you want to see Venus, aim to catch it right as the sky begins to darken.
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  On November 16th, Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation, appearing farthest from
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  the sun in the evening sky.
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  This marks the best chance to spot Mercury for this month, so look low in the southwest
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  shortly after sunset.
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  If you're looking to catch a dazzling show in the night sky, November has something
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  spectacular in store, the Leonid Meteor Shower.
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  Known as the King of Meteor Showers, the Leonids are famous for their speed, brilliance, and
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  on rare occasions, absolutely jaw-dropping meteor storms.
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  The Leonids occur each year when Earth crosses the debris trail of Comet Temple Tuttle, which
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  orbits the sun every 33 years.
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  As Earth sweeps through the scattered bits of dust and rock left behind by this comet,
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  these particles hit our atmosphere and burn up, creating those bright streaks of light
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  we call meteors or shooting stars.
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  The Leonids are known for their incredible speed.
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  These meteors zoom through the atmosphere at up to 71 km per second, that's more than
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  150,000 miles per hour.
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  They're among the fastest of any meteor shower, which makes for a dramatic light show.
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  This speed also helps produce vibrant trails and even occasional fireballs.
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  Some Leonid meteors leave glowing trains that linger for several seconds after the meteor
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  streaks by, adding a bit of magic to the experience.
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  But what really sets the Leonids apart is their history of meteor storms.
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  Instead of a few meteors per minute, a meteor storm can bring hundreds or even thousands
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  of meteors per hour.
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  The last Leonid meteor storm was in 2001, with rates reaching hundreds of meteors per
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  minute, which absolutely stunned observers around the world.
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  Even though we're not expecting a storm this year, the Leonids are always worth a look.
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  In years without a storm, they typically produce a respectable 10 to 15 meteors per hour around
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  the peak.
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  The Leonids peak this year on the night of November 17th through the early morning of
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  the 18th.
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  To catch the most meteors head outside around midnight, when the radiant point, that's the
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  spot in the sky where the meteors seem to come from, rises higher.
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  For the Leonids, the radiant is located in the constellation Leo, hence the name Leonids.
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  You don't need to find Leo to enjoy the show, but knowing where it is can help you orient
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  yourself.
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  You'll spot the constellation in the eastern part of the sky around midnight, rising higher
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  throughout the night.
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  To get the best view of the Leonids, try to find a dark, open spot away from city lights,
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  lay back, get comfortable, and give yourself time.
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  Meteor showers can be unpredictable, and the longer you watch, the better chance you have
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  of catching some truly memorable meteors.
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  If you're lucky, you might even catch a bright fireball or a meteor with a colorful trail,
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  thanks to the Leonids' high-speed encounters with our atmosphere.
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  One of the most famous Leonid storms happened in 1833.
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  Imagine thousands of meteors lighting up the sky all at once.
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  People across North America witnessed it, and some were so astonished they thought it was
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  the end of the world.
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  The 1833 Leonid storm is one of the events that sparked scientific interest in meteor
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  showers, marking a turning point in how people understood these celestial displays.
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  So as November rolls on, take a few minutes, especially around the 17th and 18th, to look
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  up.
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  Whether you see just a handful of meteors or catch a dozen in a few minutes, the Leonids
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  always bring a bit of cosmic wonder to our skies.
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  Today, we're exploring one of the most mysterious and energetic phenomena in space, cosmic rays.
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  These high-energy particles travel vast distances to reach us here on Earth, carrying clues
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  about some of the most powerful events in the universe.
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  But what exactly are cosmic rays?
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  Where do they come from?
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  And how do they affect us?
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  Cosmic rays are high-speed particles zipping through space at nearly the speed of light.
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  Despite the name ray, they aren't beams of light or radiation like x-rays or gamma rays.
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  Instead, cosmic rays are primarily made up of atomic nuclei, mostly protons, with some
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  heavier nuclei and electrons.
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  When these fast-moving particles hit Earth's atmosphere, they interact with the atmospheric
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  molecules creating showers of secondary particles that cascade down toward the surface.
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  Most cosmic rays are harmless by the time they reach Earth's surface, thanks to our
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  planet's atmosphere and magnetic field, which act as shields.
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  But their presence offers scientists valuable insights into high-energy processes happening
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  far beyond our solar system.
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  Cosmic rays originate from various sources, both inside and outside our galaxy.
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  They're usually grouped into three categories based on their energy and likely origin.
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  Solar cosmic rays are the lowest-energy cosmic rays generated by our Sun during solar flares
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  or coronal mass ejections.
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  While these are less energetic than other cosmic rays, they do pose a concern for astronauts
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  and satellites orbiting Earth as they can penetrate spacecraft and human tissue.
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  Galactic cosmic rays are mid-energy cosmic rays that come from sources within our Milky
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  Way, such as supernova, that's the explosive deaths of massive stars.
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  When the star goes supernova, it releases a tremendous amount of energy, accelerating
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  particles to near-light speeds.
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  Galactic cosmic rays travel vast distances, sometimes thousands of light-years, across
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  the galaxy to reach us.
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  Extra-galactic cosmic rays are the most energetic and mysterious cosmic rays originating from
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  outside our galaxy.
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  Some extra-galactic cosmic rays have energy levels millions of times higher than those
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  produced by supernova.
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  Scientists suspect that these particles may come from extremely energetic sources like
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  active galactic nuclei, that's supermassive black holes that are actively consuming matter,
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  to gamma ray bursts or other still-mysterious cosmic events.
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  When cosmic rays collide with particles in Earth's atmosphere, they create secondary
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  particles that shower down to the surface.
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  This interaction forms a continuous low-level stream of cosmic radiation known as background
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  radiation, which we encounter every day.
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  Though it's undetectable to human senses, cosmic rays play a subtle role in our environment.
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  Interestingly, some researchers believe that cosmic rays might even influence Earth's
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  weather patterns, particularly cloud formation, though this connection remains an area of
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  active research and debate.
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  If cosmic rays indeed play a role in cloud formation, they could have a slight but intriguing
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  impact on weather and climate.
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  Astronauts experience cosmic rays first-hand when they travel outside Earth's magnetic
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  shield.
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  High-energy cosmic rays can pass through spacecraft and even human tissue, which poses a health
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  risk on long missions.
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  One unusual effect astronauts report is seeing flashes of light when they close their eyes.
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  These flashes are caused by cosmic rays interacting with the retina or optic nerve, producing
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  a brief spark of light that astronauts perceive in their vision.
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  The Apollo astronauts who ventured beyond Earth's magnetic protection reported this
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  phenomenon, and it's still experienced by those on the International Space Station.
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  For astronauts on future missions to Mars or beyond, exposure to cosmic rays will be
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  a significant concern.
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  Space agencies are exploring various shielding techniques, such as using magnetic fields or
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  specialized materials to reduce this exposure in safeguard astronauts on long-duration missions.
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  Cosmic rays can even make their presence known in photography and electronics.
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  High-energy cosmic rays can create artifacts on camera sensors, showing up as unexpected
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  bright spots or streaks in photos.
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  This effect is especially noticeable in space-based astrophotography, where the long exposure images
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  capture faint objects.
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  During these exposures, cosmic rays may hit the camera sensor leaving a visible trail.
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  To remove these cosmic ray artifacts, astronomers typically take multiple photos of the same
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  region and use software to identify and filter out any anomalies.
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  Cosmic rays don't only affect cameras in space, they can also disrupt sensitive electronics
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  on satellites and even on Earth.
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  On rare occasions, a cosmic ray may interfere with a computer chip, causing a bit to flip
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  and leading to minor errors or glitches in data.
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  While this is rare at ground level, it's more common at high altitudes such as in airplanes
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  or on satellites, where there's less atmospheric shielding.
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  This effect, known as a single event upset, has been observed in both spacecraft and
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  sensitive ground-based electronics.
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  In fact, scientists take advantage of cosmic rays' interaction with sensors on certain
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  spacecraft using specialized detectors to study cosmic ray properties directly.
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  Instruments like the radiation assessment detector, RAD, on NASA's Curiosity rover
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  measure cosmic rays on Mars, helping us understand the radiation levels future astronauts might
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  face on the red planet.
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  Studying cosmic rays provides scientists with valuable insights into some of the universe's
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  most extreme events.
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  Their high energy levels carry information about powerful cosmic forces.
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  By analyzing the energy, composition, and arrival direction of cosmic rays, scientists
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  trace these particles back to their sources, studying phenomena like supernova, black holes,
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  and gamma ray bursts.
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  In fact, cosmic ray research has led to some surprising discoveries.
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  In the 1960s, scientists observed cosmic rays with energy far beyond what was thought possible,
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  challenging our understanding of particle physics.
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  These ultra-high energy cosmic rays have since pushed scientists to rethink the energy limits
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  of cosmic processes and search for possible sources in the distant universe.
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  And here's a twist, cosmic rays may have even contributed to Earth's chemistry.
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  In a process called cosmic ray spallation, these high energy particles break apart atomic
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  nuclei when they collide with them, producing lighter elements.
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  It's believed this phenomenon helped create some of the lithium and beryllium present
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  on Earth, contributing to our planet's unique composition.
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  That's it for today's episode of Star Trails.
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  If you found this episode useful, please share it with a friend.
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  The easiest way to do that is by visiting our website, startrails.show, where you can
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  find all of our episodes including transcripts, night sky maps, and more.
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  Until next time, keep looking up and exploring the night sky.
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  Clear skies, everyone.