Look up! Peak fireball season is next few weeks

Emily Bills for redOrbit.com – @emilygbills

Oh, sweet spring with the smell of flowers, pollen allergies, and rushing to lose weight to fit into your swimsuits.

And don’t forget the meteors.

Each spring, for a few weeks around the equinox (this year it occurs on March 20^th), we get to experience peak fireball season. According to Earthsky.org, the rate of fireballs, or really bright meteors, goes up 30% at this time, and no one is exactly sure why.

The American Meteor Society (AMS) thinks “this peak could be due to the fact that the Antapex radiant lies highest above the horizon this time of year during the evening hours.” (The antapex radiant is the point the solar system is moving away from while we are orbiting the sun.)

To clarify: fireballs are meteors, they’re just bigger and brighter than normal–”generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky,” says AMS. Fireballs can also be seen in a wide array of colors as the brightness falls within the range of our color vision. If you are extremely lucky, you might hear a fireball sound, which sounds much like a sonic boom or a hissing and popping noise (if it’s smaller).

In honor of this special occasion of fireball season (and because, when we heard this, we immediately thought, “Fireball season? Like the whisky?”), we at redOrbit have created a Fireball Drinking Game for you to partake in–responsibly. RedOrbit does not promote drinking and driving in any capacity, so if you’re going to do this, have a designated driver or an Uber ready.

Anyways, here are the rules:

1. Get a group of friends who like to stargaze and drink. The more the merrier.

2. Make sure you have a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky (obvi).

3. Begin the game in the early evening, right as it’s getting dark. This is the best time to see fireballs.

4. Everyone lies down in a big circle and watches the sky.

5. If you see a fireball, begin singing “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash as loud and as obnoxiously as you can.

6. Everyone who did not see the fireball or did not sing must take a shot of Fireball.

7. Because fireballs are somewhat rare, you can play this game with regular meteors if you’re getting thirsty.

As always: Happy hunting!

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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113355536/look-up-next-few-weeks-are-peak-fireball-season-031915/