Stargazing Will You Be Watching the Perseid Meteor Shower?

[ProfuselyQuarky]

The Perseid meteor shower will be at it's peak next Friday (August 12)! They'll be seen best in the Northern Hemisphere and mid-southern latitudes around 1:00 am.

I've got two things to do before the 12th:
1) Convince the rest of my folks that this is more exciting that sleeping and
2) Convince them that driving a couple hours to see the meteor shower is worth it.

Anybody going to go out and see them?

 

[jedishrfu]

Don't forget to check the viewing quality of your site and the weather.

The best would probably be a state or federal park where light pollution is at a minimum.

In Texas, some folks will go to the McDonald Observatory (https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/) which has some events planned.

One astronomer suggests getting away from city lights because apparently the moon will be bright and the combination will obscure the viewing of all but the brightest meteors.

https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/perseid-meteors

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

Fortunately, for my area, the weather forecast says it will be clear . Light pollution here is pretty bad, so venturing out to a national park around here would be necessary, but that just makes it even better.

 

[jedishrfu]

Just tell your parents not to feed the lions, or tigers or bears okay?

 

[1oldman2]

Anybody going to go out and see them?

I'll be there for sure, the natives here are very in tune with this stuff and host viewing parties.

 

[1oldman2]

lions, or tigers or bears okay?

Oh my...

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

I'll be there for sure, the natives here are very in tune with this stuff and host viewing parties.

Lucky guy, you live in Montana! If it's the same Montana I know, you're going to get a good view :)

 

[1oldman2]

Lucky guy, you live in Montana! If it's the same Montana I know, you're going to get a good view :)

Flathead lake ain't to bad of a place to hang out, the viewing will be "top notch" as long as the weather stays good.

 

[OmCheeto]

A group of organizations are hosting a party here at a state park about 25 miles from the city center.
I've never been to one, but this looks like it might be a good year for it.

OMSI Perseid Meteor Shower Watch Star Party
Friday, August 12, 2016
9:00pm - 11:59pm​

The weather forecast, so far, looks favorable.

 

[davenn]

They'll be seen best in the Northern Hemisphere and mid-southern latitudes around 1:00 am.

... till dawn

will be out again this year all going well ... saw good numbers / hour last year ( ~25 / hr) from just outside the northern suburbs of Sydney, Oz
Perseus will be just on the NNE horizon for me, but many of the meteors will still streak across the sky originating from that directionDave

 

[sophiecentaur]

2) Convince them that driving a couple hours to see the meteor shower is worth it.

Commiserations, my friend.
That takes me back to the time when we were holidaying in France during the last Total Eclipse, visible in the UK and Europe. We needed to drive North for a couple of hours to get to Paris in order to see it. The family just would not get a move on and we actually MISSED the totality because of that. I was in a foul mood for the rest of the holiday and the idiots couldn't even understand why. Families - who'd have 'em?

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

I was in a foul mood for the rest of the holiday and the idiots couldn't even understand why. Families - who'd have 'em?

Calm down, mate :) Can't blame them for not always having the same interests as you, unfortunately.

200 meteors per hour is a thrilling estimate. Earth will be going nearer the center of Swift-Tuttle. Certainly a special year for Perseids.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/perseid-meteor-shower-aug11-12.html

 

[OmCheeto]

A good sign, posted yesterday on Twitter:

Babak Tafreshi ‏@BabakTafreshi ~4 pm Aug 3
This morning in #Sierras, California, with #MilkyWay above Mt Whitney (left). A lot of #meteor activity these nights​

According to wiki, the showers run from the 2nd week of July, thru the 3rd week of August, with the peak this year on the 12th - 13th.

 

[Sue Rich]

Flathead lake ain't to bad of a place to hang out, the viewing will be "top notch" as long as the weather stays good.

Flathead is a great spot, but parking isn't the best.
There's about 20 miles down the west side of the lake with only a two-lane road dissecting a hillside and Flathead lake.
Maybe a boat?

 

[1oldman2]

http://www.space.com/33671-perseids-get-a-boost-from-jupiter.html

 

[sophiecentaur]

Seeing is not too good here at the moment but I have seen a 'shower' of two in about twenty minutes, here in Essex UK. The other night I saw a fantastic one that was slow and seemed to last for at least a second. I guess I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg (to stretch an analogy) because of the haze.

 

[davenn]

am hoping early am Friday will be clear, want to sleep for the evening then get up and travel to site arriving around 1 am
( IF weather is clear... forecast looks OK)

will have 2 cameras pointing in opposite directions one for nthrn and one for sthrn halves of the sky
and maybe this year will capture more than last yearDave

 

[sophiecentaur]

Good luck with that matey.

 

[davenn]

thanks :)

the weather has been crap over the last 2 weeks and this is the synoptic map for my location
for Friday

there's no point being on location well before 1 am as the moon doesn't set till about 1 am

Dave

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

the weather has been crap over the last 2 weeks

Same here. The mornings have been cloudy, but then it clears up at around noon up into evening. Earth is teasing. I never trusted weather forecasts, anyways.

will have 2 cameras pointing in opposite directions one for nthrn and one for sthrn halves of the sky
and maybe this year will capture more than last year

If you get anything nice, post some pics if it's not too much trouble, okay?

 

[1oldman2]

While reading through, http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/perseid-meteor-shower-aug11-12.html I came across
https://www.nasa.gov/offices/meo/home/index.html which says these "outbursts" may cause problems, I wonder what the Perseid meteor shower would look like as seen from the ISS?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

If the sky is clear I'll make the 45min drive outside the city at midnight to see them

 

[George Jones]

I sat out in my backyard for a while last night, and, from the middle of a small city (Prince George BC) with high clouds in the sky, I saw four. One was very bright, and left a visible trail. I remember in high school, a friend and I sat out in a field on his farm, and we saw a very good Perseids display. In 2002, when I lived in the US Virgin islands, I saw an insane Leonids meteor storm,

"About every 33 years, the Leonids can produce a storm of meteors in certain locations of Earth. NASA defines one of these storms as a situation in which meteors fall at a rate of at least 1,000 an hour, or about 16 or 17 every minute. The last one of these storms occurred in 2002, but a jaw-dropping one happened in 1966."

In an interview on CBC radio, my friend in Saint John New Brunswick explains what meteors and the Perseids are and how to observe them,

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2693088505

 

[davenn]

well that was almost a total waste of time !
was out in the freezing cold 5C conditions from 1 am till 5 am this morning

was seeing a good few Aquarids between 1 and 3 am totalled around 22 ( that was the saving grace for the observations
else it would have been a writeoff
saw 2 Persieds between 4 and 5 am ... don't know what happened to them all ??
last year was seeing an avg of ~ 25 / hr with the peak in activity of 35 / hr for one particular hr period

this year diddly squat Dave

 

[sophiecentaur]

Commiserations. No dice here, either. Clouds. As ever in UK.

 

[1oldman2]

this year diddly squat

Early evening here, I'll watch and see how the northern hemisphere does in my area. (clouds permitting)

 

[davenn]

Early evening here, I'll watch and see how the northern hemisphere does in my area. (clouds permitting)

just remember, meteors are always better after midnite

 

[1oldman2]

From APOD.

 

[fresh_42]

And now, of all times it started raining at sunset ... <grrrrr\>

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

It's only 7:15 pm here. We're going out to the desert at around midnight. Fingers crossed!

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

Sorry about the disappointment you guys had. Right now, the skies are clear.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'll check the sky in about an hour and decide

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Hoping these skies will clear some more! Excited!

 

[1oldman2]

For those with uncooperative weather... http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/asteroids/best-meteor-showers

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Watched from about 10:30pm to 11:00pm local time in my back garden near Southampton in the south of England, UK. No clouds, but sky was somewhat hazy brown because this is a densely populated area, and view is limited by nearby trees and houses. Saw about 12 Perseids, mostly fast and fleeting but a couple brighter and more lasting, and one meteor going the other way. Included one bunch of 4 within a few seconds of one another, in general area of radiant, and another pair within seconds of each other near Cassiopeia. Also saw many satellites and aircraft, whose blinking lights are very annoying when I'm trying to spot Perseids.

 

[Bystander]

Front range, 0200-0300 MDT, spotted a couple dozen (no camera). Even got one so bright it made me blink.

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

We were out from about 12:40 to 2:20 and it was marvelous . There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we probably saw about 30-40, including 7-8 really long, bright ones that rolled across the sky relatively slowly.

 

[jim hardy]

Moon was pretty bright

but had a good time
we live in rural Ozarks on a small lake so grandkids and i floated out to the middle on inner tubes
moon was bright but we saw several really nice long trails, one showered sparks across about twenty degrees nearly overhead.

What they enjoyed most though was the neighborhood bats sometimes flying by just arm's length away. Nobody suffered a single mosquito bite.

 

[JustynSC]

Lucky for me I should be able to see them from my back porch right overhead! No need to drive anywhere, just sitback relax and gaze into the night sky

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I was assuming that the show was basically over for this year, but I just went to shut an upstairs window (at 9.45pm local time) and happened to look out - and saw a very bright Perseid, visibly slowing down at the end, leaving a trail for a few moments. That was from indoors with some lights on! So I went outside for another look, but came in after a few minutes without having seen any more.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

I counted 11 before heavy cloud cover rolled in and remained until I gave up 2 hours later. I was tickled with each one, but it hadn't been enough! My little girl couldn't stay awake long enough to watch them and make her own wishes. She did see a few months back though.

 

[fresh_42]

If she's going to know that you had seen some, you could give her some (unused ) wishes from yours.

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

My little girl couldn't stay awake long enough to watch them and make her own wishes. She did see a few months back though.

I really wish she saw them, Freyja, but I'd have a hard time staying up on a normal day, too, to be honest. Excitement and a nicely tuned ukulele, however, is better the caffeine .

Glad you were able to see some, though!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Had a fantastic night of viewing on Thursday (8/11); dozens of meteors all night long. I was able to capture a bunch with time-lapse photography, will post a video when I get a chance.

 

[1oldman2]

I wonder what the Perseid meteor shower would look like as seen from the ISS?

Well here is the answer to that question.

Here is an example of what they do to the ISS.
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/R_Moore-ISS_Inspection_Capabilities_and_Challenges.pdf

 

[Dembadon]

This is the site I use to find low light pollution areas: http://darksitefinder.com/map/

I believe @russ_watters recommended it to me a couple years ago, and it has been a great resource.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here's a link to my 8/11/16 timelapse:



I've been struggling with the various compressions that happen- the native size is 1600 x 1068 and looks great; I rescaled to 1280 x 720 for Youtube... Hope you like it!

 

[jim hardy]

Hope you like it!

Yes !
i clicked tool icon and selected 1/4 speed...

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

I've been struggling with the various compressions that happen- the native size is 1600 x 1068 and looks great; I rescaled to 1280 x 720 for Youtube... Hope you like it!

That's awesome! I like it a lot!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Thanks, everyone! Here's August 12: