UK Skywatchers set for meteor shower

Posted by: DenisA on 11 August 2009

Skygazers are preparing for the high point of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

The shower, which reaches its peak on Wednesday (12th), occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.

As this cometary "grit" strikes our atmosphere, it burns up, often creating streaks of light across the sky.

The meteors appear to come from a point called a "radiant" in the constellation of Perseus - hence the name Perseid.

"Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream sometime on 12 August. Then, you could see dozens of meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke of Nasa's meteoroid environment office.

No special equipment is required to watch the sky show. Astronomers say binoculars might help, but will also restrict the view to a small part of the sky.

The Perseids can appear in any part of the sky, but their tails all point back to the radiant in the constellation Perseus.

Stargazers are advised to lie on a blanket or a reclining chair to get the best view.

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Posted on: 11 August 2009 by gone

quote:
Originally posted by DenisA:

The meteors appear to come from a point called a "radiant" in the constellation of Perseus - hence the name Perseid.

Can someone explain why they appear to come from that position? Is it because the planet is moving in that direction at the moment we pass through the debris?

Thanks for the reminder Denis - I think I'll take a look tomorrow night, except some rain is forecast.

I remember watching it from rural France one year with absolutely no light pollution. Amazing

Posted on: 11 August 2009 by mudwolf

yeah 18 years ago I worked for teh Forest Service in Santa Barbara, the archeologists were doing a project in the mountains. Great space 2000' above the hot plain below, Huge rocks with Chumash native paintings, very spiritual space and we watched the perseid shower with no light contamination. But it was a struggle to stay awake, then you'd just give up and roll over to sleep.

Posted on: 11 August 2009 by Bruce Woodhouse

Where approx is Perseus in the UK sky? NSW or E?

Bruce

Posted on: 11 August 2009 by Manni

Hi Bruce,

it depends on time.

In the evening Perseus is in the NE, later - around two hours past midnight - it is near the zenit and in the early morning you can find the constellation in the NW.

Stars are doing the same as the sun or the moon. They go from E to W, because of the rotation of the earth.

You can find Perseus below the characteristic "W" of Cassiopeia.

Good luck

Manfred

Posted on: 11 August 2009 by Ron Brinsdon

Thanks for the heads-up (no pun intended)DenisA.

It was mentioned VERY briefly on BBC TV this morning but otherwise no information.

I think I will find a recliner in the beer garden at my local tonight.

Have a good day,

Ron

Posted on: 12 August 2009 by DenisA

Ron,

I saw a discussion on BBC TV yesterday morning. I hope the sky is clear for you tonight, it's cloudy here at the moment in Essex. Careful how you get out of the recliner or you will see different stars

Posted on: 12 August 2009 by bon

I sat out last night to have a bit of view. About 10:30. Saw about 6 in an hour. Very bright streaks covering about 15-25 degrees of arc.

Some light pollution where I am but still not bad. Suggest people set up and allow eye to become dark adapted.

Still good view of the Moon, terminator showed some good crater detail and also a great view of Jupiter and 4 of its moons (in a small spotting scope).

I suspect tonight may be a bit cloudy!

Posted on: 13 August 2009 by Manni

Unfortunately the sky was overcast here last night.
But from other regions of Germany it was possible to observe the Perseid shower. Up to 60 shooting stars per hour could be seen from dark sites.

Who was lucky as well?

Posted on: 13 August 2009 by BigH47

Cloudy here too.

Posted on: 13 August 2009 by OscillateWildly

Meteors 0, Cloud 4

Posted on: 13 August 2009 by Manni

The greatest meteor shower in history happened in the year 1966.

The peak of this Leonid shower was observed from the western parts of North Amerika on Nov. 17th in the early morning. About 40 shooting stars per second occured, that means 144000 per hour