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Originally posted on Dark Sky Diary as “Perseids Meteor Shower 2011″ by Steve Owens @darkskyman on twitter

This month sees the most reliable meteor shower of the year; the Perseids. You can begin watching for Perseid meteors now, and the shower will last until mid-August, but the peak of the shower occurs in the small hours of Saturday 13 August 2011.

Unfortunately this year’s shower will be obscured by the full Moon which occurs on the same day, and so it won’t present its usual excellent display.

The number of meteors that you will observe every hour depends on a number of factors:

• the density of the cloud of dust that the Earth is moving through, that is causing the shower in the first place;
• the height above the horizon of the radiant of the shower, the point from which the meteors appear to radiate;
• the fraction of your sky that is obscured by cloud;
• the naked-eye limiting magnitude of the sky, that is a measure of the faintest object you can see.

Please visit Dark Sky Diary for the rest of this article………..

Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th of August 2011

From Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th of August 2011 @VirtualAstro on Twitter with the help of The National Trust, Universe Today, Royal Astronomical Society and many more, will be holding a Twitter Meteorwatch for the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Everyone is welcome to join in, whether they are an astronomer, have a slight interest in the night sky or just wonder?

As well as looking up, enjoying the night sky with us and seeing meteors, maybe for the first time? You will have the opportunity to contribute for fun with images and online, or to Science if you wish, by tweeting and seeing your results on a map, or by submitting Observing Forms if you are a more serious observer.

This event follows on from the popular Twitter Meteorwatch held in August and December of 2009 and 2010 “Meteorwatch 2009″

Use the hash tag: #Meteorwatch and get involved, ask questions, do some science, follow the event and enjoy the wonders of the night sky with us. Images and other information will be tweeted as it happens. Live!

Join in on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

The highlight of the summer meteor showers: The Perseids reach maximum around the 12^th/ 13th of August and may put on a display of approximately 80 to 100 meteors per hour under ideal viewing conditions.

Conditions this year aren’t ideal due to there being a full moon, but the brighter meteors will be seen. Let’s hope the skies stay clear.

Perseid meteors are often bright with persistent trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up. Further information on the Perseid meteor shower and how to view it, can be found here.

While you are looking for meteors, there will be other objects to look out for such as the Planet Jupiter late in the evening, the Milky Way, Summer Triangle, manmade Satellites and more.

The Twitter Meteorwatch will start at 21.00 BST on the 11th of August and will continue through to the evening of the 13th. Amateur and professional astronomers and stargazers from the US and other countries are invited to join in and take over from the UK, when the sun comes up here, helping make the event run continuously and be truly international.

Watch the awesome new trailer here….

 

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), in conjunction with the British Astronomical Association‘s Campaign for Dark Skies, has recently announced their 2011 Star Count Project.

Star Count Week (Monday 31 January – Sunday 06 February 2011) aims to get you outside and looking up, specifically to assess how dark – or light – your sky is.

The technique is simple. 1. Find Orion. 2. Count all the stars you can see within the main rectangle formed by Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel and Saiph, the four stars that make up Orion’s shoulders and feet. (Don’t count the three bright belt stars). 3. Tell the CPRE.

That’s it. By counting how many you can see, astronomers can calculate your sky’s limiting magnitude, or the brightness of the faintest stars you can see. It’s a very simple – and rewarding – project to take part in.

There are other annual star count programmes, such as GLOBE at Night (March 22 – April 4 2011) which I blogged about during their 2010 event. You can also get more involved and conduct a detailed dark sky survey, or take part in local activities such as the Peak District National Park’s Orion in the Peak project

Originally posted on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman

At 1900 GMT on 3 January 2011 the Earth will be at perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun this year.

If that sounds confusing to you, and has you wondering why it’s so cold given that the Earth is at its closest to the Sun, then this belies (a) a northern-hemisphere-centric attitude (in the Southern Hemisphere it’s summer right now), and (b) a misunderstanding of what causes the seasons.

The Earth orbits the sun in a nearly circular orbit called an ellipse. The degree by which an orbit differs from a perfect circle is called the eccentricity, e. If e = 0 then the orbit is circular; if e = 1 then the orbit is parabolic, and therefore not gravitationally bound to the Sun. The Earth’s orbital eccentricity is 0.0167, meaning that it is very nearly circular, with the short axis of the ellipse being around 96% the length of the long axis.

Thus, during perihelion Earth is 0.983AU from the Sun, while during aphelion (its furthest distance from the Sun, occurring this year on 4 July) Earth is 1.017AU from the Sun. (1AU = 1 astronomical unit = the average distance between the Earth and the Sun = 150 million km). The seasons on Earth have really nothing to do with how close the Earth is to the Sun at different times of year. Indeed how could they, given that the difference in distance between closest and furthest approach is only a few per cent?

The seasonal differences we experience are of course caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis, which is inclined by 23.5 degrees from the vertical. This tilt means that, as Earth orbits the Sun, for six months of the year one hemisphere tips towards the Sun, so that it experiences longer days than nights, becoming most pronounced at midsummer, at which point the Sun reaches its highest in the sky at noon. Simultaneously the other hemisphere tips away from the Sun, and experiences shorter days than nights, becoming most pronounced at midwinter, on which day the Sun is at its lowest noontime altitude.

The further you are from the equator the more pronounced the seasonal effects. In fact equatorial countries don’t experience seasonal variations, while the poles experience extremes with six-month-long winters and summers.

The timing of perihelion and aphelion relative to our seasons is entirely random. The fact the southern hemisphere midsummer (21 Dec) almost coincides with perihelion (3 Jan) is simply that; a coincidence. Given that fact, there is no reason to be surprised that perihelion occurs so close to northern hemisphere midwinter. it has to happen some time and it’s coincidence that it happens to occur within two weeks of midwinter / midsummer.

To take this explanation even further, we can calculate how much variation in incident sunlight (called the flux) there would be in two scenarios:

1. an imaginary scenario where the seasonal varioations in temperature are due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis but where the Earth goes round the Sun in a perfectly circular orbit

and

2. an imaginary scenario where the Earth’s axis isn’t tilted, but where it’s orbit is elliptical in the same degree as ours actually is.

1. The Sun appears at its highest point in our sky each day at noon. The highest it ever gets is at noon on midsummer. The lowest noontime altitude occurs at noon on midwinter.

In Scotland the Sun is around 55 degrees above the horizon at noon on midsummer, and only 10 degrees above it at noon on midwinter.

The amount of energy from the Sun radiant on a fixed area is proportional to the sine of the altitude, so the ratio of the solar energy radiant on a square metre of Glasgow between midsummer and midwinter is

sin(55) / sin(10) = 1.84

So here in Scotland we get 84% more energy from the Sun in summer than we do in winter, due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis.

2. If the Earth’s axis was not tilted, then we would only experience temperature differences from the Sun depending on how far or near we are from it. In this case, the amount of energy from the Sun radian of a fixed area is proportional to the square of the distance from the Sun, so the ration of the solar energy radiant on a square metre of Glasgow between perihelion and aphelion is

(1.017/0.983)^2 = 1.07

So we get 7% more energy from the Sun at perihelion than we do at aphelion., due to the differing distances to the Sun.

From this you can see that, while the distance to the Sun has some effect on how much heat we receive, it is a very small effect compared to that produced by our axial tilt.

Originally posted on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman

The first meteor shower of 2011 is the Quadrantids, the peak of which falls on the night of the 03/04 January 2011. The Quadrantids shower has one of the highest predicted hourly rates of all meteor showers, comparable to the two great annual showers, the Perseids and the Geminids, occurring in August and Deember respectively. However unlike the Perseids and Geminids, the Quadrantids peak is very narrow, occurring over just a few short hours.  (You can read the IMO’s rather technical summary of the 2011 Quadrantids here: http://www.imo.net/calendar/2011#qua)

The predicted Zenith Hourly Rate (see my previous post about ZHR and what it actually means here) for the Quadrantids is around 120. The narrow peak is predicted to occur some time between 2100 on 3 January and 0600  on 4 January 2011, however the radiant of the shower – the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis – is very low in the evening hours, rising higher towards dawn, and so the best viewing times are later in this run, just before dawn.

The radiant will rise due N and get to its highest before dawn due E, so look roughly in a NE direction to maximise your chance of seeing some Quadrantids. As always with meteor showers, don’t use binoculars or a telescope – your naked eyes are best. One very useful bit of equipment is a reclining deck chair, which makes observing so much more comfortable!

Let’s use the equation relating ZHR to actual observations of meteors to work out how many Quadrantids you might see:

Actual Hourly Rate = (ZHR x sin(h))/((1/(1-k)) x 2^(6.5-m)) where

h = the height of the radiant above the horizon

k = fraction of the sky covered in cloud

m = limiting magnitude

In the case of the 2011 Quadrantids, if observed from the UK, h = 15 degrees at 2100, rising to 25 degrees at midnight, 40 degrees at 0300, and 65 degrees at 0600. Let’s assume you have clear skies (haha) with k = 0.

The number of Quadrantids you can expect to see from a variety of observing sites, at various times throughout the night, is as follows:

For very light polluted sites, such as city centres, m = 3, and therefore you can expect to see between 3 and 10 meteors per hour at the peak, depending on when it occurs.

In suburban skies near a city or town centre m = 4, and you’ll see between 5 and 20 meteors per hour at the peak, depending on when it occurs.

In rural skies where m = 5, you’ll see between 11 and 38 meteors per hour at the peak, depending on when it occurs.

Under very dark skies, where m = 6.5 (i.e. where there is no or negligible effect of light pollution, like in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park) you’ll see anywhere between 31 and 109 meteors per hour at the peak, depending on when it occurs.

Remember, all of these numbers assume perfectly clear skies. If half your sky is cloudy, cut these numbers in half!

Also remember that it depends when the peak occurs. Due to the rather narrow peak, if you observe at 2100 on 3 January you may see very few if the peak doesn’t occur until 0600. Still, it’s very much worth a look, just in case!

How many Quadrantid meteors will I see?

Where are you observing from?	Limiting magnitude	Number of Quadrantids per hour if peak occurs at 2100	Number of Quadrantids per hour if peak occurs at 0000	Number of Quadrantids per hour if peak occurs at 0300	Number of Quadrantids per hour if peak occurs at 0600
Very light polluted city centre	3	3	5	7	10
Suburban Site	4	5	9	14	20
Rural Site	5	11	18	27	38
Dark Sky Site	6.5	31	50	77	109

A round-the-world wave to the humans aboard the International Space Station by their fellow humans on the Earth – choreographed by a grassroots Twitter campaign (@ISSwave).

 24-31 DECEMBER, 2010

 

A celebration of human solidarity during the holiday season

For one week beginning Friday, 24 December, humans around the world will show their solidarity with their fellow humans in space (and on Earth) by waving at the International Space Station (ISS) as she passes overhead at 17,500 mph (28,000 kmph).

Participants, recruited through Twitter, are encouraged to share their waves — either alone or as part of an ISSwave tweetup (a physical gathering of twitterers, or tweeps) — by tweeting their zip/postal code and the hashtag “#ISSwave” along with photos and videos of their waves, thoughts, holiday wishes for the astronauts and cosmonauts, etc. Participants’ waves will be registered in real-time at www.isswave.org.

Astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station may even film themselves waving back at ISSwave participants. At least two astronauts, including Ron Garan, have voiced their support for ISSwave in emails and tweets.

The idea for the wave emerged through a serendipitous twitter exchange among Twitter acquaintances and regular ISS watchers Lucy Rogers (@DrLucyRogers), Richard P. Grant (@rpg7twit) and Karen James (@kejames). They discovered that watching ISS passes is even more exciting when done together with other humans, whether they are standing right next to you or watching from afar. To know that you are not the only one looking up in awe at this spectacle of human ingenuity and cooperation speeding across the night sky creates a special connection between us.

“The first time I watched an ISS pass I was surprised by how much it affected me,” said Karen James. “‘We made that’, I thought, ‘there are humans up there!’ All of my worries just seemed so tiny in the face of this symbol of human achievement and cooperation. I want to share that experience with other humans and also show my support to the ones living and working aboard the station.”

‘“I’d always wave up at the ISS if I saw it pass overhead,” says Lucy Rogers. “Someone laughed and said the astronauts wouldn’t see me.” So she asked on Twitter if anyone else waved – a lot of people did – and the communal ISS waving began.  “When Karen moved to the USA she saw the ISS at a different time to us in Europe – which prompted the idea of a round-the-world wave,” she says.

We see the ISS because it is lit by the Sun. Sunlight reflects off it’s solar panels in the same way it glints off windows here on Earth. As the ISS travels round the world, the reflection can be seen in a broad sweep across the Earth. Due to the angles involved between the Sun, ISS and our location on Earth, sometimes we see bright, high passes and sometimes we can’t see it at all. During the week 24th – 31st December, most places on the Earth should get a good view of it at some point.

The three formed the Twitter account @ISSwave to coordinate, promote and provide updates on  the event. Their hope is that seasoned and novice ISS watchers alike will experience the startlingly emotional experience of an ISS pass, amplified by solidarity with thousands of others watching around the world.

Additionally, the team hopes the buzz around ISSwave will persuade those who have never watched an ISS pass to participate, marking an increase in awareness about the International Space Station and the existence of a community of space enthusiasts on Twitter (“spacetweeps”).

The wave also celebrates the 10th anniversary of continuous human presence in space (ISS10years) on 2 November 2010 and the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space — the first human spaceflight — on April 12th 2011 (www.YuriGagarin50.org).

 

ISS Wave Info:

• The International Space Station has been orbiting the Earth over 15 times a day for more than ten years.
• Although it is about 390 km (~240 miles) high, we can still see it from the Earth, thanks to the Sun reflecting off the solar arrays. The solar array wingspan is 240 feet (73 meters). This is longer than that of a Boeing 777 model at 212 feet (65 meters).
• Currently on the ISS are Oleg Skripochka, Alexander Kaleri, Dmitry Kndratyev, Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Scott Kelly (Commander).
• Photos of the ISS passing overhead are available at http://www.isswave.org/ISSWave/Media_Photos.html
• There are various ways you can work out when it will be possible to see it from where you are, including Heavens Above, Twisst, NASA, ESA and Orbiting Frog.
• As of 19 December, @ISSwave had over 600 followers from across all continents.
• Dr Karen James (@kejames) is Director of Science for The HMS Beagle Trust, a UK charity aiming to rebuild the famous ship that carried Charles Darwin around the word on his seminal voyage of discovery. Through the Beagle Project she collaborates with NASA Astronaut Michael Barratt a long-duration spaceflight veteran and member of the crew of the upcoming STS-133 mission to the ISS aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. She is a former postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum in London and has recently repatriated to the United States. For more information visit http://kejames.com/.
• Dr Lucy Rogers (@DrLucyRogers) a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, aims to infiltrate the public’s consciousness by writing scientific stuff in plain English. She has published a book about space flight, “It’s ONLY Rocket Science”, which doesn’t contain any equations. She lives on the Isle of Wight where she can see the Milky Way from her back garden. For more information visit http://lucyrogers.com.
• Dr Richard P. Grant (@rpg7twit) is a biological scientist turned writer, editor and poet. He currently lives and works in London, and has a habit of taking on far too many projects.  For more information visit http://rg-d.com/rpg, or his blog at Occam’s Typewriter.

 

PRESS CONTACT:

For more information or to arrange an interview:

UK:    Dr Lucy Rogers

Twitter: @DrLucyRogers

Skype: dr.lucy.rogers

Phone: +44 1983 731 759

Email: lucy@lucyrogers.com

USA:    Dr Karen James

Twitter: @kejames

Skype: karenejames

Phone: +1 207 669 2663

Email: drkejames@gmail.com

When @VirtualAstro asked me if I could share with you some impressions or tips and tricks about Meteor Shower observations, I did my homework and had a look at the previous blog entries. So I discovered that Astroguyz offered a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the most important tips to keep in mind when looking for meteors, complemented by Mark Zaugg’s post, while Deirdre Kellaghan shared with you the beauty of seeing such celestial show. So there I was in trouble, with both the technical and emotional parts already fully covered.

 

It is at this point when I decided to look at Meteor Showers from the most familiar point of view to me – outreach, the very core of #MeteorWatch, but taking into account a rather often situation: lay people whose selective memory only makes them recall that during a particular night – the peak – they can go out and see hundreds of shooting stars with their naked eye. As easy as that.

 

When I was back in Bucharest, at my astronomy club, this translated into visitors coming at the Astronomical Observatory, which is placed rather in the middle of the city, to see the shooting stars they had read about in the newspapers. With the light pollution around us and the limited time for visiting, you can imagine that most of them left the observatory rather disappointed and most certainly discouraged if this was the phenomenon astronomers proudly rated as top 3 next to eclipses and auroras, as Astroguyz correctly points out.

 

So I thought of a few ideas for observatories, planetariums, science centres etc. Ideas which I’m hopping will encourage you to share some of your Perseids outreach experiences with the public.

 

Close the observatory/planetarium and move to a dark area

 

You are not going to need instruments anyway so here’s your chance of not being dependent on a certain location. Plan to set up your observing station in a darker area, like a bigger park or somewhere at the outskirts of the city. Make sure you consult with public authorities and have their permission as well as security arranged.

 

Check your selected location during several nights and see if problems occur, like lighting from neighbouring areas. If it’s a park, arrange with local authorities to reduce the lighting during that night. If it’s an area next to the city, inform the locals in the area of the event, stressing the importance of dark skies and, better off, encourage them to join the event.

 

Invite people

 

Make an announcement inviting people to join you for a star party to hunt meteors together. Give precise details of location, directions and map how to get there, but also establish a meeting point from where to go together.

Include a list of things to have like warm clothes, sleeping bag and blankets, red light, recording devices (and obviously internet connection to join the global community at #MeteorWatch )

 

Open a single communication channel where people can register and keep in touch until the event and make sure you point this out in the announcement.

 

Send the announcement to the press, place it on your website, tweet it, put it on Facebook, make a poster, distribute flyers to visitors in the prior nights. Basically, use all available channels as best you can.

 

Apart from the general announcement, invite some key people to whom you would like to impress with your activities for future collaborations: journalists from newspapers or online portals, bloggers and, why not, even local authorities.

 

Create a community

 

Use a communication channel, whether it is your Twitter account, Facebook page, a discussion group, a forum etc. to bind these people into a community. After all, they will be sharing one amazing experience.

 

Invite people to subscribe there and encourage them to bring their families and friends or share cars with other participants if they have free places.

 

Get people ready by telling them more about meteor showers, presenting them how the observations should be done, sharing tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts. Develop resources like maps to download or direct them towards the MeteorWatch website. Explain them how they can actually make science if they submit their observation to #MeteorWatch with location details which you can provide.

 

Run the event

 

Meet your community, hope for good weather and go observe the shooting stars, enjoying this wonder of the night sky.

 

Go around the groups of people and make sure everything is alright, see how they are submitting information, explain more if the case, but be discrete. After all you want them to look up the sky.

 

Evaluate, reward and keep in touch

 

After a good day’s sleep, have a look and see the impact of your event: how many people attended, how many tweets were there, how the event was covered in the media before and after the event. Write down what went well and what went wrong and make sure you improve next year.

 

Spot the most active or enthusiastic participants and give them a free entrance to your observatory/planetarium. They might be one step away from becoming amateur astronomers.

 

Keep your community active. Thank people for joining, encourage them to share their impressions and to give you feedback. Continue sending them information to keep them interested.

 

 

Do it again next year. Bigger. Better.

 

Oana Sandu is working as Community and Outreach Support at ESO’s education and Public Outreach Department and she’s an amateur astronomer affiliated to Astroclub Bucharest.

 

@oanasandu & @ESO_Observatory

When @VirtualAstro asked me if I could share with you some impressions or tips and tricks about Meteor Shower observations, I did my homework and had a look at the previous blog entries. So I discovered that Astroguyz offered a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the most important tips to keep in mind when looking for meteors, complemented by Mark Zaugg’s post, while Deirdre Kellaghan shared with you the beauty of seeing such celestial show. So there I was in trouble, with both the technical and emotional parts already fully covered.

 

It is at this point when I decided to look at Meteor Showers from the most familiar point of view to me – outreach, the very core of #MeteorWatch, but taking into account a rather often situation: lay people whose selective memory only makes them recall that during a particular night – the peak – they can go out and see hundreds of shooting stars with their naked eye. As easy as that.

 

When I was back in Bucharest, at my astronomy club, this translated into visitors coming at the Astronomical Observatory, which is placed rather in the middle of the city, to see the shooting stars they had read about in the newspapers. With the light pollution around us and the limited time for visiting, you can imagine that most of them left the observatory rather disappointed and most certainly discouraged if this was the phenomenon astronomers proudly rated as top 3 next to eclipses and auroras, as Astroguyz correctly points out.

 

So I thought of a few ideas for observatories, planetariums, science centres etc. Ideas which I’m hopping will encourage you to share some of your Perseids outreach experiences with the public.

 

1.    Close the observatory/planetarium and move to a dark area

 

You are not going to need instruments anyway so here’s your chance of not being dependent on a certain location. Plan to set up your observing station in a darker area, like a bigger park or somewhere at the outskirts of the city. Make sure you consult with public authorities and have their permission as well as security arranged.

 

Check your selected location during several nights and see if problems occur, like lighting from neighbouring areas. If it’s a park, arrange with local authorities to reduce the lighting during that night. If it’s an area next to the city, inform the locals in the area of the event, stressing the importance of dark skies and, better off, encourage them to join the event.

 

2.    Invite people

 

Make an announcement inviting people to join you for a star party to hunt meteors together. Give precise details of location, directions and map how to get there, but also establish a meeting point from where to go together.

Include a list of things to have like warm clothes, sleeping bag and blankets, red light, recording devices (and obviously internet connection to join the global community at #MeteorWatch )

 

Open a single communication channel where people can register and keep in touch until the event and make sure you point this out in the announcement.

 

Send the announcement to the press, place it on your website, tweet it, put it on Facebook, make a poster, distribute flyers to visitors in the prior nights. Basically, use all available channels as best you can.

 

Apart from the general announcement, invite some key people to whom you would like to impress with your activities for future collaborations: journalists from newspapers or online portals, bloggers and, why not, even local authorities.

 

3.    Create a community

 

Use a communication channel, whether it is your Twitter account, Facebook page, a discussion group, a forum etc. to bind these people into a community. After all, they will be sharing one amazing experience.

 

Invite people to subscribe there and encourage them to bring their families and friends or share cars with other participants if they have free places.

 

Get people ready by telling them more about meteor showers, presenting them how the observations should be done, sharing tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts. Develop resources like maps to download or direct them towards the MeteorWatch website. Explain them how they can actually make science if they submit their observation to #MeteorWatch with location details which you can provide.

 

4.    Run the event

 

Meet your community, hope for good weather and go observe the shooting stars, enjoying this wonder of the night sky.

 

Go around the groups of people and make sure everything is alright, see how they are submitting information, explain more if the case, but be discrete. After all you want them to look up the sky.

 

5.    Evaluate, reward and keep in touch

 

After a good day’s sleep, have a look and see the impact of your event: how many people attended, how many tweets were there, how the event was covered in the media before and after the event. Write down what went well and what went wrong and make sure you improve next year.

 

Spot the most active or enthusiastic participants and give them a free entrance to your observatory/planetarium. They might be one step away from becoming amateur astronomers.

 

Keep your community active. Thank people for joining, encourage them to share their impressions and to give you feedback. Continue sending them information to keep them interested.

 

 

6.    Do it again next year. Bigger. Better.

 

Oana Sandu is working as Community and Outreach Support at ESO’s education and Public Outreach Department and she’s an amateur astronomer affiliated to Astroclub Bucharest.

 

@oanasandu & @ESO_Observatory

    

Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th of August 2010

From Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th of August 2010 the Virtual Astronomer @VirtualAstro with the British Astronomical Association @britastro Beyond International Year of Astronomy and amateur astronomers, will be holding a Twitter Meteorwatch for the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Everyone is welcome to join in, whether they are an astronomer, have a slight interest in the night sky or just wonder?

As well as looking up, enjoying the night sky with us and seeing meteors, maybe for the first time? You will have the opportunity to contribute to Science if you wish, by tweeting and seeing your results on a map, or by submitting Observing Forms if you are a more serious observer.

This event follows on from the popular Twitter Meteorwatch held in August and December 2009 "Meteorwatch 2009"

Use the hash tag: #Meteorwatch and get involved, ask questions, do some science, follow the event and enjoy the wonders of the night sky with us. Images and other information will be tweeted as it happens. Live!

The highlight of the summer meteor showers: The Perseids, reach maximum around The 12th of August and may put on a display of aproximately 80 to 100 meteors per hour under ideal viewing conditions. Conditions this year are good due to there being no moon visible. Let’s hope the skies stay clear.

Perseid meteors are often bright with persistent trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up. Further information on the Perseid meteor shower and how to view it, can be found in this site.

While you are looking for meteors, there will be other objects to look out for such as the Planet Jupiter, the Milky Way, Summer Triangle and manmade Satellites and more.

The Twitter Meteorwatch will start at 21.30 BST on the 11th of August and will continue through to the evening of the 14th of August. Amateur and professional astronomers from the US and other countries are invited to join in and take over from the UK, when the sun comes up here, helping make the event run continuously and be truly international. The event will close in the UK, in the early hours of the 15th of August 2010.