In my absence the Gaffer, founder and owner of Dark Skies Tenerife Guide, Stephen Phelps, has taken over the reigns of the tour.  So, here’s a little article he wrote for our Facebook page that he asked me to include in this week’s blog talking about some of the sights he has seen this week.

“Some of this week’s guests on our star gazing excursion were fortunate to see one of the brightest and long-lasting meteor I have seen this year. We were looking over to the right of Teide and I was explaining why bright stars twinkle when they lie low in the sky. The star Capella in the Auriga constellation was doing just this and then suddenly from the right-hand side there came a brilliant flash of light travelling almost horizontally and disappeared behind Mount Teide. One of our guests were double lucky as he was looking at Capella through our astro binoculars we use. It got me thinking about meteor showers as I explained what they are and why they are named. Meteors or “shooting stars” are the results of small grains of debris from a comets tail being pulled into the earth atmosphere and burning brightly as the heat up during their descent. The larger grains last longer and burn brighter. Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to radiate from. The one we see last night was probably a Taurid from the Taurus constellation. The next big meteor shower peaks on the night of the 13th December although it is possible to get a good show a few days each side of this date The Geminids meteor shower that peaks in the early hours of the 14th December is considered by some to be one of the best meteor showers of the year. It is also unique because its source is an asteroid rather than a comet as some of the meteors are bigger and brighter than normal Meteors are best viewed in the early hours of the morning when the constellation they appear to come from is high in the sky. The best time to watch the Geminids is between 2am and 4am looking north towards Castor & Pollux the two main stars in the Gemini constellation. The moon cooperates that night by setting before midnight so there will be a dark sky in Tenerife.
You can book a night in our star gazing pods on one of the nights around the peak and enjoy the show from the warmth and comfort of a double bed.”

Thanks Steve, we all enjoy seeing meteors and the New WINTER STARGAZING PODS are an excellent place to do it from.  To book give us a call or email.  Well folks until the next time that’s good night from me and it’s good night from him!  See you back here next week for more star stories, this is Stargazing Tenerife team signing out!