The Perseid Meteor Shower

ZeRoY

cormie wrote: »

Are they still coming down? Might pop out for a look but not if it's over. Dun Laoghaire area right beside the sea, would I see anything looking out to the sea or where should I look?

Sure they are, so long you have dark skies you should see some!

ps200306

From DL your problem is the radiant is north east over the city. Try car park on Dalkey Hill. Was there Monday night and trees block a lot of city light but still a good view. Saw several from there just after ISS time.

Drove down to Wexford earlier. Saw the clear weather disappear in the rear view mirror :rolleyes:

General clearance before 1am though, and saw about one every two minutes for 20 mins. Clear sky but high haze -- can see the Milky Way but not Andromeda galaxy (except through binocs). On a food break now, but heading back out.

Mostly smallish streaks so far, but also a few brighter ionisation trails.

cormie

Might go for a look here: https://goo.gl/maps/jK2Zi looking out to the sea

ZeRoY

Fresh from the camera,

cormie

Did I hear they will be visible for a few nights? IS tonight meant to be the busiest? I went for a look, I caught the end of one, but it's not the best view and I'm very tired too

ps200306

Yes, they're around for a while but tonight was the maximum.

spookwoman

Got a few peeking through the clouds. Just working on them now. Was like Grand central with the amount of cars coming and going grrrr

ps200306

Saw more than twenty in the last 45 min. session. Has hazed over a fair bit now, so probably will call it a night. Best Perseids for me in a while... didn't set the world on fire but stayed moderately clear, temps above 13 C so comfortable watching. Most years its hard to catch a glimpse at all. Saw 40 to 50 tonight in a couple of hours.

ps200306

spookwoman wrote: »

Got a few peeking through the clouds. Just working on them now. Was like Grand central with the amount of cars coming and going grrrr

Shouldn't that be trains? :pac: :pac: :pac:
Know what you mean though.

spookwoman

add the group of increasingly inebriated "lads" shouting for an hour *sigh*

Perseids 13/08/2015 by Leah Burgess, on Flickr

_Tombstone_

Space Station Perseid

Zubeneschamali

I counted 26 in an hour in Athlone with clear skies but plenty of light pollution. I was out the back from 11.30 to 12, but the best show was from 12.15 to 12.45 - I saw 4 really bright ones near Cassiopea in one 2 minute period - bright enough to show an orange colour and leave a trail.

gizmo555

I was despairing of seeing anything in Westport - all evening there was almost 100% cloud cover.

I watched some TV and looked out again at 23:30 - to my astonishment, ALL the cloud was gone , leaving the clearest skies I've seen here for weeks.

My son & daughter and I saw a couple of dozen - as an added bonus, the skies were so clear, we could make out the Milky Way, which was a first for the kids.

I'll certainly be out for another look tonight, weather permitting.

Gwynston

Went out for a look in rural Co. Galway around 11:30pm to find lovely clear skies and saw 2 streaks in about a minute, so quickly went and got my wife and son out of bed to share the experience!

We had a great time for an hour or so, the highlights being 3 in the space of ten seconds, and one really bright and long one right above us in clear view!

Thargor

Very active last night even with Bray and Dublin North of me alright, regret not doing a night hike up Bray Head now, every time I went out in the back garden I saw a couple.

5star02707

First time seeing one when I was on my way home just before midnight. Bright light that keeps on fading while it moves must say i was in awe

Teddington Cuddlesworth

Went up to my usual spot I go every year, Ballyane on the old military road (the car park opposite the lake in the crater) and I couldn't believe the traffic on my way out.
View point that looks over Dublin was mobbed! Old military road was chock a block the whole way to the beginning of the wicklow mountains and forest park.
Needless to say we saw a good few large ones between 11 and 11:30 and then the Iridium flare at 11:47 was a nice touch, but with the traffic coming and going we were constantly blinded.

Don't care much about my car so we grabbed a double duvet and we lay back on the toasty warm bonnet wrapped up which was lovely.
Most relaxed either one of us have been in a long time.
I think next year we'll have to venture further a field as it grows in popularity.

On a side note, a decent night car spotting too. In the hour we saw e39 M5, Audi R8 v10, gtr and a Cl55

Flukey

cormie wrote: »

Did I hear they will be visible for a few nights? IS tonight meant to be the busiest? I went for a look, I caught the end of one, but it's not the best view and I'm very tired too

Yes, you can see them for more than just last night, though it was the peak. Think of it as if you were going through a rain shower. As you enter it, it would be light rain. As go further in, it would get heavier and heavier, until you reach the centre. Then it would start to get lighter and lighter again until you come out the other end and it stops. A meteor shower is like that. Earth is passing through a dusty area of space. It is not very dusty as it first enters, then gets more dusty and then eases off again. At the dustiest part, we get the most meteors. The whole process can take days, so you get a build up over a series of nights, reach the peak and then it eases down again. So if it is clear on any of the next few nights, go out and look again.

The media usually talk up the peak and many people think it is just for that one night. The term "shower" can be a bit misleading too, as some people are expecting to see huge amounts of them, like a fireworks display. The term "fireworks" is used too, adding to this confusion. The media also often feature pictures of lots of meteors, which are usually long exposures. All of these things lead to people expecting to see a lot more and then being disappointed when those expectations aren't met. To see one every few minutes, as many people in the thread saw last night, is really good and what is to be expected. Tonight may not be so clear, but try anyway and even into next week. Even if you don't see any, there is so much more to be seen. A clear night sky never disappoints.

ps200306

Good description. Ironically rain showers are more often the opposite. The updraft in a cumulus cloud reduces the flux at the centre, while the drops (or hailstones) that spill over the sides create heavy downpours as you enter and leave the shower.

Flukey

There may be more cloud around tonight. Let's hope its the dusty and not watery showers we see.

Kalyke

Well dine Iancar29 on getting your picture on the Six One news!!

euser1984

Storm 10 wrote: »

Six shooting stars four satellites and an Israeli Jumbo Jet, New York to Tel Aviv, could not get over the satellites came quicker than the meteors

How do you identify the satellites? I heard off an app for my phone for identifying passing airplanes - is there anything out there that doesn't cost anything?

Darkglasses

euser1984 wrote: »

How do you identify the satellites? I heard off an app for my phone for identifying passing airplanes - is there anything out there that doesn't cost anything?

Stellarium is excellent for PC. Identifies stars and satellites.

John mac

here's one i got last night ,
[IMG][/img]meteor shower 2 by JOhn Mac, on Flickr

the little one on the right is a slow moving satellite

John mac

euser1984 wrote: »

How do you identify the satellites? I heard off an app for my phone for identifying passing airplanes - is there anything out there that doesn't cost anything?

something like this
http://www.heavens-above.com/Satellites.aspx?

animaal

Pointed the camera at the sky last night - I captured a few satellites, but definitely one meteor before the dew spoiled the fun!



(Here's the footage)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XyWcr-8q_E

Flukey

euser1984 wrote: »

How do you identify the satellites? I heard off an app for my phone for identifying passing airplanes - is there anything out there that doesn't cost anything?

There are lots of sites. My preferred ones are heavens-above.com and n2yo.com. The ISS is easy to identify, as it is so bright. Most others are quite faint, like a normal star. You'll see them moving across the sky, slowly and steadily, then fading away before they have completely crossed the sky. If you look carefully enough, you could see a few in a few minutes. It is best to go to one of the sites, identify a particular satellite and the time it is due to pass and where to see it, and then go out and look. As I type, the ISS is due to start a pass over Dublin at 21:34 and another at 23:11. It always goes from the west to east, normally south of Ireland. Check for local times. I got those on heavens-above. It gives more precise directions, and if you click on the date of the particular pass, it will bring you to a sky map showing where it passes. So go out and face south and look up and it will come from your right. It is unmistakeable.

Flukey

I just saw the 21:34 pass. The skies are not totally clear, but I could see it. Watch for the 23:11 one guys. Meteors will have started by then.

johnny osbourne

100 % cloud cover here,


nothing in the air tonight,

NUTZZ

Crystal clear skies in the Midlands tonight, was out for the last hour and saw many meteors and the ISS passover, lovely night to be out viewing in the dark countryside.