by VirtualAstro | Jul 17, 2018
Perseid Meteor Shower 2018
The Perseids – Perseid Meteor Shower 2018 is visible late July and through August. Maximum Perseid meteor activity is on and around 11/12/13 August. The Perseids are one of the most prolific and best-known meteor showers.
In 2018 there is no Moon present during the peak of the meteor shower. Consequently even more meteors will be visible due to dark skies! We will have perfect viewing conditions compared to other years if skies stay clear. Don’t miss natures firework display!
Prepare yourself for this coming cosmic spectacle and how to enjoy your #meteorwatch.
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by VirtualAstro | Aug 10, 2012
Long Exposure photo of a visible ISS pass Credit: Mark Humpage
Please see:
It’s meteorwatch and as well as shooting stars from the Perseid meteor shower, we can see some excellent International Space Station (ISS) passes alongside the celestial fireworks. (more…)
by VirtualAstro | Aug 6, 2012
Image Credit :- Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Perseids are one of the most prolific and best-known of the meteor showers and can be seen in late July and through August each year, with the maximum activity on or around 12/13 August. One advantage of the Perseids shower is that it happens in the warmer weather of Summer, which makes it ideal for anyone interested in seeing their first meteor. You can see a meteor at any time of year but, for a day or so around the date of maximum, there may be a ten times better chance of seeing one. (more…)
by VirtualAstro | Jan 2, 2012
Originally based on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman
The first meteor shower of 2012 is the Quadrantids, the peak of which falls on the night of the 03/04 January 2012. 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 December respectively. However unlike the Perseids and Geminids, the Quadrantids peak is very narrow, occurring over just a few short hours.
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 UT on 3 January and 0700 UT 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. (more…)
by Steve Owens | Nov 11, 2011
Originally posted on Dark Sky Diary By Steve Owens @Darkskyman on twitter
On the night of 17/18 November 2011 the Leonids meteor shower reaches its peak. This annual performer is associated with Comet Temple-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 33 years leaving a trail of debris as it goes. Once a year the Earth passes through this trail, and we see a meteor shower.
Leonids 2001
This year’s Leonids shower is hampered by the last quarter Moon which sits just to the right of the radiant of the Leonids, in Leo. Despite this there is good reason to observe the shower this year, as the International Meteor Organisation suggest there might be as many as three peaks of activity.
Throughout November the rate of Leonids will increase, with the main peak occurring at 0340 GMT on 18 November, at which time the Zenith Hourly Rate may be 20+. For observers in the UK, observing under cloudless skies, away from light pollution, this translates as an hourly rate of ~14, but the Moon will interfere and reduce this value somewhat. Two other peaks may also occur, at ~2100 on November 17, and at ~2300 on 18 November, with similar rates. This means that both the nights of 17/18 and 18/19 November may offer good opportunites to observe this shower.
The Leonids has the distinction of being the most dramatic meteor shower that I’ve ever seen, as I observed the Leonid meteor storms every year from 1998 to 2002, when we saw hundreds of meteors each night at the peak of the shower. These storm peaks are predictable, and occur every 33 years, associated with the pass of comet Temple Tuttle, as it refreshes the trail of debris that cause the meteors. The next pass of Temple Tuttle is due 2031, so we’ve a long wait for the next storm.
Interestingly, the Leonid storm of 1833 was truly stunning, with rates estimated to be around 100,000 per hour across North America.
To view the Leonids, find a dark spot, away from light pollution, sit on a reclining deck chair facing as large an area of the sky as you can manage, wrap yourself in a blanket, and enjoy the view. For observers in the UK the meteor shower radiant will rise around 2200 GMT on 17 November and will be high in the SE by 0400 on 18 November.
If you want to make observations of the Leonids that might help scientists better understand the shower, you can do so via the Society of Popular Astronomy, or the British Astronomical Association. Lots more info can be found at the Meteorwatch website.
