Jean in Wisc Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 The next 2 nights will be great nights to go out and watch a meteor shower! http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/wheres-the-radiant-point-for-the-perseids The Perseid meteor shower takes place each year when the earth passes through the path of pebbles and material that the Swift-Tuttle Comet leaves behind every time it passes through our solar system. Comets are big ice balls that, when they get closer to the sun, start melting--resulting in their leaving a trail of debris in their wake. Most meteors are only the size of a grain of sand or a pea, but some of them are a bit bigger and they can appear to be fantastic fireballs. This year the peak is expected to be on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning (August 11th/12th) and Wednesday evening/Thursday morning (August 12th/13). Normally we suggest folks go out after midnight for the best viewing, but the number of meteors that you are going to be able to see after midnight this year will will be fewer since the moon is going to be rising after midnight, washing out the night sky. So, going out in the evening after sundown will be just as good an option this year. I recommend taking a blanket, air mattress, or lawn chair out and spreading out to watch the show! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thank you, Jean! I'm not much of a night person; do you think it'll be recorded anywhere where I can view it online? (I'd probably be a horrible astronomer, as obviously most of the work is done at night) Is it the Leonid meteor shower which takes place in the fall (October/November, perhaps) that you can view first thing in the morning, say at 4:00 or 4:30 a.m.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thank you, Jean! I'm not much of a night person; do you think it'll be recorded anywhere where I can view it online? (I'd probably be a horrible astronomer, as obviously most of the work is done at night) Is it the Leonid meteor shower which takes place in the fall (October/November, perhaps) that you can view first thing in the morning, say at 4:00 or 4:30 a.m.? The Leonids are in November. As far as I know, meter showers are normally best viewed in the morning (2:30 to dawn). But the moon is going to wash out the sky at that time this week, so they are saying you might see just as much going out in the early evening this time. You certainly could get up early this week to try and see what you can see. Here is something you can watch if you want to see it online: http://www.universetoday.com/2009/08/10/2009-perseid-meteor-shower-double-peaks-this-year/ Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thank you, Jean! I'd love to watch it online---thanks for posting the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 How convenient! We'll be camping tonight and tomorrow so will head out of the tent to take a look. Hopefully it won't be cloudy... Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 (edited) I stayed out until the moon came up and the clouds came in. There were probably a couple of dozen of us at a state park, and every time one shot across the sky the whole group cheered! I pointed out some of the constellations and told their stories--why the bears have long tails; why the scorpion is half way around the sky from Orion; why the queen is tied to her chair... Fun :) Jean Edited August 12, 2009 by Jean in Wisc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I stayed out until the moon came up and the clouds came in. There were probably a couple of dozen of us at a state park, and every time one shot across the sky the whole group cheered! I pointed out some of the constellations and told their stories--why the bears have long tails; why the scorpion is half way around the sky from Orion; why the queen is tied to here chair... Fun :) Jean Wow Jean! I wish I had been in your group. It all sounds wonderful! :) I was happy I got to see one just before the sun came up while I was waiting for my son's school bus to come. :) A bright meteor shot right down from the sky. I got so excited! I never thought I would see one since it's so light where I live. :) It was very cool! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 We all went out to a field nearby and watched the small piece of sky that wasn't blanketed with heavy fog, and we each saw one, except for my youngest. After returning home, I stayed outside with her to try and keep her encouraged while she waited...and waited. After 20 minutes or so (it was almost midnight by then) I said a little prayer that she could see a meteor before she went to bed. A few minutes later the BIGGEST fireball soared slowly right in front of us, above the treetops. It was just amazing. The look on her face was priceless. We stayed a few more minutes and she saw 5 more. A lovely, encouraging experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 We all went out to a field nearby and watched the small piece of sky that wasn't blanketed with heavy fog, and we each saw one, except for my youngest. After returning home, I stayed outside with her to try and keep her encouraged while she waited...and waited. After 20 minutes or so (it was almost midnight by then) I said a little prayer that she could see a meteor before she went to bed. A few minutes later the BIGGEST fireball soared slowly right in front of us, above the treetops. It was just amazing. The look on her face was priceless. We stayed a few more minutes and she saw 5 more. A lovely, encouraging experience. :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 We saw a dozen or more last night before heading to the tent at/after 11pm. Then we got up at 3:45 and saw probably 3 dozen more before heading to bed at 4:30ish. We'd have stayed up later, but we were tired and want to have the energy to enjoy the campground today. In the early morning the moon was above, but it wasn't bright enough to wash them out. Both times about 1/4th of the ones we saw were really, really nice - with tails, etc (lights lingering as they went through). The rest were 'normal.' Still, it was a privilege to see so many at one time. My only wish is that this campground wasn't so lit! If we'd been back home at our own campsite it'd have been much darker - but traveling the 8 hours back home certainly wasn't an option! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 We had to drive about 45 minutes to get away from the coastal fog and city lights. We found a nice spot along some horse pastures and were thrilled to see the milky way, much less some nice shooting stars. The horses came and hung out with us by the fence, curious why these humans were out and about at midnight. Actually one car stopped and the driver asked us why so many people were parked along the back roads and looking up to the sky -- he was jokingly wondering if we were all waiting for the mother ship! Ahhh, California! We saw a few before the moon came out, then saw some terrific ones with tails followed by a very long lull before catching a few more before we drove back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 We had to drive about 45 minutes to get away from the coastal fog and city lights. We found a nice spot along some horse pastures and were thrilled to see the milky way, much less some nice shooting stars. The horses came and hung out with us by the fence, curious why these humans were out and about at midnight. Actually one car stopped and the driver asked us why so many people were parked along the back roads and looking up to the sky -- he was jokingly wondering if we were all waiting for the mother ship! Ahhh, California! We saw a few before the moon came out, then saw some terrific ones with tails followed by a very long lull before catching a few more before we drove back home. Wow!! That sounds like a perfect night!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Somewhere around 2:00 there was a real lull in the activity, and I pushed the kitties off my sleeping bag and came inside. Beautiful! I'm glad so many of you were able to get out and see them! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Last night was even better to see them here in upstate NY (where we're on vacation). We were seeing clusters of them every few minutes with individuals in between. There's no way we could count how many we saw. I finally had to go to bed after a spectacular 'last one' shortly after 11pm. When I got back up at 4am (ish) it was too hazy to see much so I just returned to bed. All in all, it was a nice nature show. Thanks again for the reminder about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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