The Perseid Meteor Shower

ei0675

Just back in clouds starting to roll in over longford. But still got to see a few so happy out :-)

space2ground1

animaal wrote: »

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

Is that cloud passing in the timelapse? Fantastic shot!

animaal

space2ground1 wrote: »

Is that cloud passing in the timelapse? Fantastic shot!

Yes, dirty, light-pollution-reflecting cloud. It's nice to take advantage of it for a change

mickmackey1

animaal wrote: »

(Here's the footage)

Great footage, I see you've got stars down to 4th or 5th magnitude there. Can you tell us what camera set-up you used?

animaal

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Great footage, I see you've got stars down to 4th or 5th magnitude there. Can you tell us what camera set-up you used?

Thanks. It was my old Canon 1000d on a tripod, with the standard 18-55mm lens at F4, ISO800. Nothing fancy.

I controlled it from the laptop, scheduled a couple of hundred shots, each 30secs duration.

mickmackey1

Oh I see, it's a collection of stills rather than video footage. I would like to get one of those all-sky cameras some day, pretty cool.

Allyall

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Oh I see, it's a collection of stills rather than video footage. I would like to get one of those all-sky cameras some day, pretty cool.

I would love to get the one that was used for the image in this story. :pac:

A decent Gigapixel camera would be my more realistic 'want' but probably won't get one for a long long long time (if ever).

liamtimdusty

That time again guys!
Anyone still active on this thread?

Pretzill

I have a feeling the weather is going to scupper the view tonight maybe tomorrow too here in the Northwest - I'd be delighted to hear different.

liamtimdusty

Any idea what my chances are down South? (Kinsale area)

ps200306

My reading of BBC weather and yr.no for the maximum tonight is that you want to be south east of a line from Cork to Dublin, the further east the better. Even then you're probably looking at a clouds clearing just in the nick of time around midnight to 1am. Obviously the reality could be completely different, but those are the two sources I trust.

mickmackey1

Clearing up nicely in Co Limerick, hope for the best.

GottaGetGatt

Clearing up nicely here in Tralee. In what direction should I be looking tonight and will i be able to see them with the naked eye ?

mickmackey1

GottaGetGatt wrote: »

Clearing up nicely here in Tralee. In what direction should I be looking tonight and will i be able to see them with the naked eye ?

Look to the north-east, and then up towards the zenith as the night progresses. Only the naked eye is required, they're moving too fast for binoculars or telescope.

Oscar Bravo

Joanny Donnelly giving it a big mention on the weather on RTE 1 there. fair play.

skeleton_boy

What time should we be looking upward tonight?

mickmackey1

After midnight I'm afraid.

GottaGetGatt

Will be they be moving fast or similar to an aeroplane passing. I'm fairly new to this.

Oscar Bravo

if you have clear skies they will catch your eye for sure. just look up for mabey 20/30 seconds and you are sure to see one.

Wanderer78

GottaGetGatt wrote: »

Will be they be moving fast or similar to an aeroplane passing. I'm fairly new to this.

im sure you ve seen a shooting star before? you should see streaks of light coming from roughly the same place in the sky. make sure you're in a dark place

ps200306

GottaGetGatt wrote: »

Will be they be moving fast or similar to an aeroplane passing. I'm fairly new to this.

They will be fast -- much, much faster than an aeroplane. They can be all different lengths, depending on whether they are coming toward you or sideways "earth-grazers". A long one might cover a quarter of the sky in half a second. It's fairly normal to think you're seeing things until you're sure you've seen some meteors. Your eye makes involuntary random movements which may make stars look like they are moving. Once you've spotted a couple of meteors you will be in no doubt about them.

Here's my foolproof guide to finding the radiant of the shower -- the point where all the meteors can be traced back to, but not where you will see them all.



Find the unmistakable big 'W' of Cassiopeia high up in the sky. The second stroke of the W is pointing downward toward the north east horizon. Follow the line down until you see the equally conspicuous 'K' of Perseus (which actually includes a star in Andromeda). You may not recognise the K until it has fully risen a bit before 1am. The radiant point of the Perseid shower is just above the top of the K (the shiny yellow thing in the picture which, of course, is not a real object you can see).

Sonics2k

Is tonight the only night to see them? Or can we still see them over the next night or two?

ps200306

The whole shower is weeks long, but it tends to be quite sharply peaked. I generally wouldn't bother going out except on the night of the maximum (i.e tonight), but you'd certainly expect to see some in the days around the maximum.

SteelyDanJalapeno

A few appearing from my balcony in Cork City

GottaGetGatt

Seeing a few there now , at least 1 minute. Sometimes two.

hatevodafone

hmmm, okay about 1 or 2 per minute

problem is your never looking at it, they can appear anywhere in the sky and are gone before you properly look at it

but when you think of it (spent 30mins looking up and thinking) the night sky is by far the biggest thing anyone will ever see

mickmackey1

Brilliant show, seen 3 dozen since midnight!!

Rock Lesnar

Seen 8 in about 20mins, feels bloody Baltic out there but great to watch, I'm in north meath

tricky D

Getting 1 every 1/2 minutes in Howth, good north facing spot in a dark area. One big flasher a while back.

ps200306

tricky D wrote: »

Getting 1 every 1/2 minutes in Howth, good north facing spot in a dark area. One big flasher a while back.

Am other side of bay in Dalkey. Saw that flasher and a few more. I'm going to up sticks and go further south for darkness.