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Leonids meteor shower to peak around midnight Tuesday
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Image of a Leonid meteor shower. - photo by Natalie Crofts
Natalie Crofts
KSL.com
Published: Nov 17, 2015, 2:59 PM
The annual Leonids meteor shower is about to peak.

Sometime around midnight Tuesday the show of speedy meteors will reach its most active period of about 15 meteor sightings per hour, according to NASA.

A waxing-crescent moon will set before midnight, leaving dark skies to view these bright and colorful meteors, a description on NASAs website reads. Dedicated observers with a telescope may wish to watch the Moon's earthlit night side for flashes due to Leonid meteoroid impacts on its night-side hemisphere.

While the best viewing time for the Leonids is late Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the shower has been going on since Nov. 6 and will continue through Nov. 30. It reaches its peak every year during mid-November, with special storms featuring hundreds to thousands of meteors occurring every 33 years. The last storm took place in 2002.

The Leonids, which are debris from the 55P/Tempel-Tuttle comet, are some of the fastest known meteors, according to NASA. Researchers said the meteors are bright and often colorful, streaking across the sky at speeds of 44 miles per hour.

Leonids are also known for their fireballs and earthgrazer meteors, NASAs website states. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with magnitudes brighter than -3. Earthgrazers are meteors that streak close to the horizon and are known for their long and colorful tails.

To check viewing conditions in your area, use NASAs online Fluxtimator.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.