Orionid Meteor Shower 2012 Peak: Where and When to Watch

Shooting stars will be flying by mid-month, and it promises to be a show worth watching.

The offspring of Halley's comet are about to put on quite a show over the skies of South County. Earth passes through a stream of debris from Halley's beginning Oct. 15, which gives us the benefit of the annual Orionid meteor shower, though you probably won't see much until a bit later. The shower should be at its best the night of Saturday, Oct. 20 until just before dawn on Oct. 21. This year, the moon will be setting at about midnight, which will keep the sky darkened enough that—barring cloud cover—you should be able to see up to 15 meteors per hour. What makes this shower so cool? First, c'mon, it's a show of shooting stars. Also, though, there's no question about where to look for this one. Meteor showers get their names from the …

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Whiz Kid

Whiz Kid: Affton Sophomore Aiming for Mars

Alex Hoggatt is our Whiz Kid of the week.

Name: Alex Hoggatt School: Affton High School Grade: Sophomore Alex is currently ranked number 3 in his class with a 4.2 GPA and is involved in many sports and activities. He has lettered in track and band, and twice as a member of the Varsity Boys' Swim Team. Alex serves on Affton's CATS Crew as a freshman mentor, where he enjoys helping incoming students transition into high school. Alex is also on the Team Spirit Task Force, an organization that promotes safe driving practices for teens. He is enrolled in the Project Lead The Way program and was recently elected President of the Affton's Technology Students of America chapter. He plans on attending college, majoring in Aerospace Engineering and hopefully working on NASA's Mars …

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