Fifty stars in an hour are seen with the naked eye. The General Observatory is on alert for the first meteor shower of the new year

You don’t really need to use an endoscope. “If it’s bright enough, you can see it with the naked eye,” says Theo Mulder of the observatory.

The stellar shower that begins late Monday evening comes from the Boötiden meteor shower and, according to experts, consists of a “truckload” of gravel slashing through our atmosphere at dizzying speed.

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This happens at such a high speed (at an average of 150,000 km/h) that friction occurs, causing the gravel to ignite spontaneously, causing a slight impact. Thus the digital ephemeris that advises viewers to look to the east. “The same direction the Three Kings will be coming from this weekend,” notes a member of the Public Observatory.

Unfortunately for the Orion People’s Observatory, there is no organized viewing evening in the near future on this occasion either. Due to the Corona measures in place, the observatory will remain closed.

Ineke Mulder of the People’s Observatory recognized this like no other. “We follow the same rules as museums, all national observatories are forced to keep their doors closed.”

Once the rules are relaxed again, Ineke Mulder says, Orion will once again open to a limited extent every second and fourth Sunday of the month. It is also possible to visit Orion by phone.

anniversary year

In any case, Corono is throwing a wrench into the works of the Jubilee General Observatory which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in 1992, three decades have passed and Orion wanted to celebrate this achievement with different looks. However, the aura was standing in the way of larger gatherings at the moment.

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‘We’ll see what’s possible this year,’ says Theo Mulder, who laid the foundation for Orion’s success with a few fanatics.

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At the time, Mulder was working as a janitor at De Hoeksteen High School in Grootebroek. Here he often organized extracurricular activities in the fields of astrology, meteorology and geology.

Mulder was also able to borrow fossils and meteorites from private individuals in Amsterdam. In the early 1990s, he organized various viewing evenings using simple lenses and telescopes.

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With its own full accommodations, Orion also has its own rooftop terrace to survey the starry sky, for example, a lunar eclipse or a meteor shower. Last year Orion had an unforgettable year thanks to a partial solar eclipse that was easy to track with the help of lenses.

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Since the aura was standing in the way of a major appearance, Orion had successfully decided to organize a traveling show period where audiences could use filtered lenses to view the phenomenon.

More information about: www.volkssterrenwachtorion.nl