All articles tagged with #moonlight
The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the year's most intense, peaks early January but will be poorly visible in 2026 due to the full moon coinciding with the peak time, making it difficult to observe all but the brightest meteors. The shower's origin is linked to debris from a small, possibly extinct comet, and future favorable viewing conditions are expected in 2028.
The Perseids meteor shower will peak on August 12-13, 2025, but a bright 84% full moon is expected to significantly reduce visibility, allowing viewers to see only the brightest meteors and decreasing the expected activity from about 50 to 10-20 meteors per hour. Viewing is best in dark, rural areas before dawn, and the shower has been ongoing since mid-July, continuing until August 23.
The 2025 Perseid meteor shower will peak on August 12-13, but bright moonlight from the nearly full moon will make viewing challenging. Despite the moon's interference, some meteors will still be visible, especially if viewers watch with their backs to the moon and manage expectations for fewer shooting stars. The best viewing window is around the peak night, with the moon tracing a low arc across the sky, and the radiant point in Perseus rising in the northeast.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak on August 12-13, 2025, with up to 100 meteors per hour visible despite moonlight, offering a spectacular skywatching event with potential fireballs, originating from the constellation Perseus and best viewed before dawn.
Moonlight is primarily a whitish reflection of sunlight from the moon's surface, which appears grayish-white due to its composition. Its perceived color can change due to atmospheric effects, such as scattering of light during moonrise or moonset, lunar eclipses, and atmospheric particles like dust or pollution, leading to phenomena like orange, red, blue, or honey-colored moons. These variations are caused by how Earth's atmosphere filters and refracts the light, making moonlight's color ephemeral and dependent on specific conditions.
The Leonid Meteor Shower peaked on Monday morning, offering 10-15 meteors per hour, but can still be viewed in the coming nights. However, visibility may be affected by a bright waning gibbous moon and occasional cloud cover. Optimal viewing times are from midnight to dawn, and viewers should allow 20 minutes for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The Leonid meteor shower, peaking on November 17, 2024, is expected to be underwhelming due to the bright moonlight from a nearly full moon, which will obscure the view of the meteors. Typically producing 10 to 20 meteors per hour, this year's display is unlikely to be spectacular. The Leonids originate from the debris of the Tempel-Tuttle comet, and while historically capable of producing meteor storms, no unusual activity is forecasted for 2024. Observers are advised to watch in the pre-dawn hours when Leo is visible, despite the challenging conditions.
A new study has found that the sounds emanating from coral reefs change rapidly as the Moon rises and sets, indicating shifts in ecosystem activity. Researchers monitored three reefs off the west coast of Hawaii and discovered that fish sounds increase during moonlight hours while invertebrate sounds decrease. This discovery suggests that the rising and setting of the Moon triggers regular shifts in coral reef ecosystem interactions, which could aid in conservation efforts and tracking long-term ecosystem activity in remote locations.
Scientists have decoded the molecular structure of a protein in the marine bristleworm Platynereis dumerilii that helps it sync its reproductive cycle with the phases of the moon. This is the first time the molecular structure of a protein responsible for syncing a biological clock to the moon has been determined. The protein, called L-Cry, can distinguish between moonlight and sunlight, allowing the worms to avoid mistaking the dim light of dawn and dusk for moonlight. The findings could have implications for understanding the physiology of other organisms, including humans, and shed light on the evolutionary origins of monthly reproductive timing.
Moonlight emerged as the big winner at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) awards, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography. Isabelle Huppert continued her winning streak for Best Actress with dual citations for Elle and Things to Come. Other notable winners included Adam Driver for Best Actor, The Lobster for Best Screenplay, and O.J.: Made in America for Best Editing. La La Land, despite being nominated in multiple categories, ended up as a runner-up in most of them.
Saturday in the Washington area was environmentally memorable with warm afternoon temperatures, vibrant autumn colors, and a bright full moon illuminating the night. The day showcased the beauty of the changing leaves, with the sun's rays creating a mesmerizing glow. The moon added a mystical touch to the night sky. The afternoon warmth was notable, with a high temperature of 86 degrees, just one degree shy of the all-time October 28 record. This warmth is unlikely to be surpassed until March, making Saturday a standout day in winter memory.
A Reddit user has managed to stream the Nintendo game "Zelda Tears of the Kingdom" on a PS Vita using the Yuzu emulator and Moonlight streaming system. Although the game is not technically running on the PS Vita, it appears very playable despite some noticeable lag. Moonlight is an open-source tool that lets you stream content from your PC to any device that has a compatible client installed. To achieve this, you need a streaming server on your PC, a hacked PS Vita, Moonlight Vita client installed and running on your PS Vita, and a Switch emulator such as Ryujinx or Yuzu.