OT: Perseid meteor shower this weekend

[Spacehead]

Just a reminder that the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12/13. Unfortunatley there's a full moon on i think Wednesday, so a nearly full moon over the weekend will wash out some of them.
But hey, if you have clear skies & put your back to the moon it shouldn't be a total loss.

A nice thing about the Perseids also is that you can see them nearly 2 weeks before & after the peak. I've seen some very nice ones nearly a week after the peak.

 

[wischeez]

Thanks for the info Spacehead. I'll be sure to get at least a peek at them. Suppose to be clear here this weekend.

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

My wife said she saw a shooting star last night, and I thought she was crazy! You'd think after 12 years, I'd learn to listen to her a little better

 

[networkman]

Can't wait - I got my towels and rubber ducky all ready to go! :Q

Seriously though, a number of amateur astronomers around here, both optical and radio are gearing up for the event. The only down side this year is the timing of the moon being full - tomorrow August 9th if I recall correctly. My mentor Jim and myself will definitely be looking at the VLF scans/logs to see if we can pick anything up as far as atmospheric stuff goes - doubtful as the particles are so small, but we're hopeful.

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: networkman
Can't wait - I got my towels and rubber ducky all ready to go! :Q

Seriously though, a number of amateur astronomers around here, both optical and radio are gearing up for the event. The only down side this year is the timing of the moon being full - tomorrow August 9th if I recall correctly. My mentor Jim and myself will definitely be looking at the VLF scans/logs to see if we can pick anything up as far as atmospheric stuff goes - doubtful as the particles are so small, but we're hopeful.

Good luck Rich

Thank you Spacehead, I'll look for them if its clear in seattle

 

[petrusbroder]

Thanks for the reminder! Will - as usually - take a look!

 

[amdxborg]

Thanx SH!

I'll have a look, but seems there won't be much visible in the southern hemisphere..

 

[Ken g6]

Originally posted by: Hurricane Andrew
My wife said she saw a shooting star last night, and I thought she was crazy! You'd think after 12 years, I'd learn to listen to her a little better

Even when there's not a specific meteor shower going, you can usually see one meteor an hour, if you're looking. And that's not counting satellites, which move slower but steadily across the sky.

 

[Spacehead]

Here's a few other tidbits about what's going on in space.

Space Weather News for August 10, 2006
http://spaceweather.com

NEW SUNSPOT: A large and beautiful new sunspot is emerging from the sun's eastern limb. So far it poses no threat for Earth-directed solar flares, but this could change. The spot is growing fast and turning toward Earth. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

PERSEID FIREBALLS: With the Moon glaring in the background, this weekend's Perseid meteor shower is supposed to be a dud. But maybe it won't be so bad after all. Observers have been seeing some bright, early Perseids beaming through the moonlight. One such fireball is featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com along with a 2006 Perseid observing calendar and links to meteor radars.

Space probe to slam into the Moon on September 2nd

The innovative SMART-1 technology demonstrator is about to wrap up a highly successful mission testing a range of new spacecraft concepts and systems for potential use in the future. The Swedish-built craft also conducted a broad science program using an array of instruments.

The end will come with a fiery crash into the Moon's nearside at about 0541 GMT (1:41 a.m. EDT) on September 3, according to the best data now available. This time is only certain within seven hours.

The most favorable position for observing an on-time impact will be in North and South America and Hawaii. There, the quarter Moon will be high in the sky for prime viewing.

 

[Spacehead]

I went out about 4am for about an hour & only saw 18 meteors. One very bright fireball that left a smoke trail for about 20-30 seconds, two meteors not associated with the shower & one jet airplane that had me confused for awhile as it didn't appear to be moving at first & was unusually bright near the horizon.

Anyone else see any?

 

[networkman]

FYI, our receivers did manage to pick up some of the meteor shower - specifically, the ionzation trails that each leaves as it passes through the atmosphere. We were able to detect some at 40KHz and in the 10 to 12 KHz ranges.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Spacehead
I went out about 4am for about an hour & only saw 18 meteors. One very bright fireball that left a smoke trail for about 20-30 seconds, two meteors not associated with the shower & one jet airplane that had me confused for awhile as it didn't appear to be moving at first & was unusually bright near the horizon.

Anyone else see any?

I saw some, no light polution in the middle of the country where I am.

Wasn't that much of a show this year.