Perseid Meteor Shower

James M · #1 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 05:03 PM

It's the Perseids on Sunday and it looks like it could be a good one as there is no moon. It's something I look forward to every year, last year I saw 20 and that was with lots of light pollution.

agrumpycow · #2 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James M

It's the Perseids on Sunday and it looks like it could be a good one as there is no moon. It's something I look forward to every year, last year I saw 20 and that was with lots of light pollution.

Complete ignorant here

- What is it, do I need a telescope and what would I see?

James M · #3 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 06:24 PM

Hi, well I'm rubbish at explanations so I will leave that to good old wikipedia

Meteor shower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perseids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and here are two article that I found on the Perseids this year:

This year's meteor shower - Times Online

NASA - Great Perseids

nightshade · #4 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 06:31 PM

I think we (the earth) run through the tail of a comet and meteors are the debris pulled in by the earths gravity 12 08 07 is a new moon so you should be able to see the shower
quite well with binos

agrumpycow · #5 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 06:36 PM

Thanks for the info and the links James. Sounds interesting, although, living in the centre of Reading I may have to travel a bit further out to see it!

Billy Wobble Dagger · #6 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James M

It's the Perseids on Sunday and it looks like it could be a good one as there is no moon. It's something I look forward to every year, last year I saw 20 and that was with lots of light pollution.

I've spotted the odd "shooting star" in the East over the last few evenings. Could that be part or the start of it?

I love watching the night sky, but only with the naked eye, watching the satellites wizz over. I think Venus is low in the early evening sky again, such mystery

Looking forward to the next few nights now, thanks for the heads up.

BWD

James M · #7 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Wobble Dagger

I've spotted the odd "shooting star" in the East over the last few evenings. Could that be part or the start of it?

I love watching the night sky, but only with the naked eye, watching the satellites wizz over. I think Venus is low in the early evening sky again, such mystery

Looking forward to the next few nights now, thanks for the heads up.

BWD

Yeah it could be as they can be seen from 25 Jul (albeit very few and far between) slowly increasing to the peak on the 12th and then can be seen but decreasing each night until the 18th. This is according to my book Guide to Stars and Planets by Patrick Moore anyway.

Jolanta Zofia Nowak · #8 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 10:06 PM

Drat.

I've just gone outside, keen to pick up a few 'shooters' and guess what...? The flawless blue sky of the afternoon is now a mass of cloud!

paulchandler6 · #9 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 01:33 AM

Just been out in the garden for the last 30 mins and had 3 "shooters". 1 being quite bright and lasting about 3 seconds.
Also 2 hedgehogs, 1 bat (pipistrelle) and several moths. Cheers

Billy Wobble Dagger · #10 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 09:52 AM

We spent a magical hour in the garden last night and saw 8 shooting stars, one very bright and long. Will do the same tonight and tomorrow night.

I've changed my mind on what I thought might have been Venus. It didn't seem to be as orange as I remember. It just looked like a very bright star low in the south. Silly question could it have been the space shuttle? I've never seen such a bright star in that location before.

BWD

agrumpycow · #11 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 10:26 AM

Are these in any particular direction, east, north etc? Or are they in any part of the night sky?

James M · #12 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 02:03 PM

I think you can see them in any part of the sky but they will be coming from where Perseus is in the NE.

The BBC have put out an article now.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Stargazers set sights on meteors

James M · #13 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 02:06 PM

Been looking at the weather forecasts and it doesn't too good if your in the NW part of the country but hopefully things will change.

Ambriel · #14 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 03:45 PM

Looking forward to Sunday night. We live in Scotland, out in the middle of nowhere, so light pollution isn't a problem. All we need now are clear skies...

Interpreter · #15 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

Are these in any particular direction, east, north etc? Or are they in any part of the night sky?

UP might be good.

glsammy · #16 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 09:25 AM

Apart from up, North east or put it another way, directly opposite the new moon.

agrumpycow · #17 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interpreter

UP might be good.

doh

Fourwings · #18 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 10:37 PM

Have just been outside for ten minutes and have seen 4 meteors

Two of them were quite long and bright, I'd love to have stayed out longer but seeing as I haven't been to bed since Friday night that may not be such a good idea!!

Owl-Light · #19 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 10:45 PM

We're heading down the park right now

clicka15 · #20 (**permalink**) 13-08-2007, 09:51 AM

Dear Meteorists,

I spent an hour in my back garden last night between 10.30 and 11.30 and saw seven yellowish Perseids, several flashes and flickers (which I assume were short-lived Perseids), four satellites making their steady way across the sky from south to north, and a bat hunting for moths (it was larger than a Pipistrelle, but I have no idea which species it was).

It was perfect viewing conditions for a change.

Best wishes,

Steve.

Carole McC · #21 (**permalink**) 13-08-2007, 10:37 AM

Steve,

Your bat might well have been a Horseshoe bat. Beautiful (beauty being in the eye of the beholder!) large creatures.

Just out of interest, I shall count the number of satellites that I see tonight. I saw lots last night (and most evenings, of-course).

I do hope that the sky tonight is as clear as it was last night. I might then take out my garden recliner. My brother and I (he was a keen astronomer), would very often lie outside on deckchairs, covered with rugs, watching the heavens.

Dan Salter · #22 (**permalink**) 13-08-2007, 01:11 PM

In reply to madeline and billywobble...

Billy...although indeed the space shuttle is currently docked there it was the International Space station you saw...(ISS) it made a pass from west to east at exactly 10:03 and was right overhead by 10:06 before eventually fading to orange then dissapearing...

Madeline...What you describe was almost certainly satellites...they are a lot more common than people realise...infact if you look at the stars for any sort of length of time on any clear day your likely to eventually pick one out...moving gradually but fairly fast ...and normally fading out ( this is when the moon ( or the sun, i cant remember which) is no longer reflecting on the shiny surface of the craft)..so they are not electric lights like on a plane...if your unsure if its a plane or a satellite the plane will have flashing lights somewhere on it. and the ISS last night was like a much brighter, larger star sized satellite...brighter than most stars...it flew from west to east as i mentioned...

I believe it may be passing again tonight?,...ill try and post the time when i find out.

m1.carson · #23 (**permalink**) 13-08-2007, 09:53 AM

Hi,

I was out on the hour every hour last night, [Sunday] didn't see one, but if they last only seconds I'm not surprised.

Bracknell area.

Max.

Ambriel · #24 (**permalink**) 13-08-2007, 10:07 AM

I popped out around 10pm and the sky was cloudy but with large clear patches. Still fairly light though so went back indoors. Came back out around midnight to solid cloud cover

Ah well, the Leonids will be along in a while...