View Full Version : Meteor shower
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6009081/Perseids-meteor-show-best-in-south-and-east.html
I'd quite like too see it tbh
Spiderman
11-08-09, 10:48 PM
i'd like to see it too but i guess it'l be on The Sky At Night soon and better than i could see from here, lol.
I saw the International Space Station fly over a couple of years ago now. That was magical.
I like that it happens every year, first ive heard of it! i'd love to see it, first ever, then i can say that ive seen a meteor shower :D trouble is altho southe east is meant to see it best its cloudy where i live :(
Bluewolf
12-08-09, 08:24 AM
.
metalmonkey
12-08-09, 08:43 AM
It does look awesome but you need to away from light pollution to see it really well, yes it does happen every year. I saw it a few years back, but not in the UK.
gruntygiggles
12-08-09, 09:36 AM
On any clear night between October and March, if you're out walking in the dark and in an area with low or no light pollution, just look up. This period is best for shooting stars.
As for the meteor shower last night, I didn't see anything. The sky was fairly clear, but still saw nothing and I live in the sticks!
I'm lucky to have a dad that's obsessed with this stuff. In 1999 he planned a trip to Arizona and worked the trip around us being in the Sonora Desert on the Mexican border for us to watch a Leonids Meteor Storm. The first recorded was in 1767 and there have only been 11 since then.
I can honestly say it was the most amazing night of my life (not including Stretchie of course;-) )
There were hundreds of normal shooting stars going through the sky for over four hours and there were 10-20 really big streaks a minutes, capped off every 15-20 minutes by a bl00dy giant burning through. The giants were incredible, they literally streaked across the whole sky, lasted a good 10 seconds each and were really wide. You could see all the colours of the rainbow in the tails.
Leonids normally peak on 17th November ( my birthday) but don't happen very often. Best places to see them are either the Great Wall of China or Arizona/Mexico border, where I was. No light pollution and we could hear coyotes howl all through the night while we lay on top of our RV with a jug of Margharitas.....FAB!
Very intresting stuff
:( Jealous, part from the stretchie bit, im not jealous about that ;)
must be an event - google have honoured it!
Which is how i found out about it lol
slark01
12-08-09, 10:46 AM
Same here lol
gruntygiggles
12-08-09, 11:51 AM
:( Jealous, part from the stretchie bit, im not jealous about that ;)
Hmmmm, I'm rather relieved to hear that....lol
Didnt see anything last night, we were looking out for it here and had beautiful clear skys :(
gruntygiggles
12-08-09, 12:55 PM
Didnt see anything last night, we were looking out for it here and had beautiful clear skys :(
Keep looking. These things are predicted to "peak" on the 12th August....or the Leonids are predicted to "peak" on 17th November every 33 years (although much less).
Sometimes, the particles are just too small to be visible :-(
Istn it tonight its meant to be happening?
gruntygiggles
12-08-09, 01:04 PM
Istn it tonight its meant to be happening?
Yep....tonight is the 12th. Keep an eye for the next few days though!
Roo Star
12-08-09, 05:38 PM
I'm going to visit an observatory tomorow night in an attempt to see the shower - there's too much light pollution where i live to see anything and i've never been to an observatory before so fingers crossed i'll see something:)
Up north is meant to have the best view of it tonight
MR UKI (1)
12-08-09, 06:13 PM
i'd like to see it too but i guess it'l be on The Sky At Night soon and better than i could see from here, lol.
I saw the International Space Station fly over a couple of years ago now. That was magical.
Seen that twice so far this year flying over here. Last time was about a month ago, it is pretty amazing seeing it and thinking there's astronauts on that :D
svdemon
12-08-09, 06:44 PM
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_Kingdom®ion=Scotland&city=Edinburgh
Its coming my way in a couple of weeks!
missyburd
12-08-09, 08:20 PM
I've just been out to have a look but its cloudy here :( Does it have to be really dark to see them?
Spiderman
12-08-09, 08:24 PM
Seen that twice so far this year flying over here. Last time was about a month ago, it is pretty amazing seeing it and thinking there's astronauts on that :D
Yup just what i was thinking as it passed overhead too. Crazy to think that thing that looks like a star has people living and working in it, eh?
And also kinda knowing they are looking at us while we look back at them. Nuts!
Bet they get the better view tho, lol.
svdemon
12-08-09, 11:01 PM
Yup just what i was thinking as it passed overhead too. Crazy to think that thing that looks like a star has people living and working in it, eh?
And also kinda knowing they are looking at us while we look back at them. Nuts!
Bet they get the better view tho, lol.
How easy is it to spot? Do you need binoculars?
JustATrick
12-08-09, 11:16 PM
How easy is it to spot? Do you need binoculars?
Very easy, and no binoculars needed. I used http://www.heavens-above.com/ to get predictions of ISS passes (and other visible satellites). Just enter your town and then get a prediction: it'll include times and a star map of the passes.
Once you've seen one and know what you're looking for (kind of like a plane, but moving very smoothly and with no flashing lights) you'll start to see them without needing the predictions. The hours after sunset are best. After that you'll be looking for Iridium flares (reflections from very low communication satellites): harder to spot because they only last a few seconds, but bright enough to be visible in broad daylight.
The best time I saw ISS was after a shuttle had just undocked and was on it's way back: we saw both of them, one followed by the other. They were a huge distance apart in different orbits, but it was weird to see two dots travelling together across the sky, and knowing they both had people in them.
Well tonight we have been incredibly lucky, we got to see perhaps 7 or 8 really good metor passes. :D:cool:
I think in the next couple of days we may even get some good photos of Mars, the only thing stopping us currently is the inconsiderate building in the way of the telescope. :evil:
Spiderman
13-08-09, 12:10 AM
How easy is it to spot? Do you need binoculars?
Nope, heard about it on the news, went out at the right time (was about 11pm that night) and waited...and waited, till that star over there just kept getting closer and closer. Wow.
Very easy, and no binoculars needed. I used http://www.heavens-above.com/ to get predictions of ISS passes (and other visible satellites). Just enter your town and then get a prediction: it'll include times and a star map of the passes.
Once you've seen one and know what you're looking for (kind of like a plane, but moving very smoothly and with no flashing lights) you'll start to see them without needing the predictions. The hours after sunset are best. After that you'll be looking for Iridium flares (reflections from very low communication satellites): harder to spot because they only last a few seconds, but bright enough to be visible in broad daylight.
The best time I saw ISS was after a shuttle had just undocked and was on it's way back: we saw both of them, one followed by the other. They were a huge distance apart in different orbits, but it was weird to see two dots travelling together across the sky, and knowing they both had people in them.
What he said too :)
Well tonight we have been incredibly lucky, we got to see perhaps 7 or 8 really good metor passes. :D:cool:
I think in the next couple of days we may even get some good photos of Mars, the only thing stopping us currently is the inconsiderate building in the way of the telescope. :evil:
Lucky you! Bloody buildings. Can you ask it to move and come back in a week or something?
Sadly not, as that silly building is the one I happen to live in right now ;)
Spiderman
13-08-09, 12:33 AM
always an excuse aint there ;)
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