Meteor shower thingy tonight.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Got to love disinformation. The following caption and image are from a well know Irish astro society:

The Lyrids will appear to originate from a point in the north.

[sologuitarist61]

Nice one Paul

[rory]

i going to watch from about 1 a.m , from indoors through the window .

okay ,bring on the wimp onslaught !

[sologuitarist61]

Will you be able to see anything through all the rain running down the glass?

[LukeSkywatcher]

Will you be able to see anything through all the rain running down the glass?

Ehhhhhhhhhh hello................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats what windscreen wipers are for.LOL.

It has cleared up a treat here. A few random small clouds off to the SE but they dont look too menacing.

Lyra rises at 11pm. My view is obstructed by trees, so i'll have to wait til about 1am to see Lyra but i should still catch meteors before that.

That's the plan.

Now i just have to ration my intake of Russian Water so that i dont spend the night seeing double stars everywhere and the likes.

[sologuitarist61]

What from indoors?????? Thats some window you have there

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yeah i refer to this window as my obsy (its about 10' long by 5' high). I've spent many a happy night stargazing through it. The only things that look rubbish through a window are planets. Single glazed may be ok but double glazing causes all sorts of trouble when observing planets.

I keep the window so clean..............you could lick it and not pick up any germs.

Talk about armchair astronomy.

[sologuitarist61]

Sounds good Paul

[Mr Moff]

I keep popping out every 15 mins to see what the clouds are planning.Everythings out side and ready,flask filled with capuchino.

I tried the motor on Venus and went inside for a brew.Came out half an hour later and YAY :hello2: it was still in the centre.

Danny.

[Nosivad]

Hi, come back in as it has clouded up here. Saw 1 sporadic and 1 possible Lyrid. The latter appeared beautifully in my line of sight as I was watching a fairly bright polar orbiting satellite heading north. It was quite slow moving for a meteor and had an orange tail as it burned out. Observed other things which I will post in relevant sections. Night night all!

[wheresthetorch?]

Saw just one Lyrid despite sitting back in a comfy deckchair for nearly an hour! Should be better when the radiant is higher, but I'm tired and cold. What a wimp!

[GlassWalker]

hi guys, by any chance will you be able to see the shower from swindon?

thanks

I think I saw one by naked eye earlier (West Swindon). Am set up for some lucky dip widefield imaging between the clouds and in a preliminary review there's streaks all over the shop on long exposures.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I think I saw one by naked eye earlier (West Swindon). Am set up for some lucky dip widefield imaging between the clouds and in a preliminary review there's streaks all over the shop on long exposures.

Those could be satellites. Any pics yet to post?

[Marki]

Cloud beginning to thin here (at least so far...). Tentatively optimistic...now if only I can follow Paul's avice and ration the russian water, all will be well

[LukeSkywatcher]

Haha i cant even follow my own advice, so i cant expect others to.

I'm doing ok thought. Unless it clouds over................i will have a gander.

[jflowers]

I'm currently doing my best impression of Grandpa Simpson

*old man shakes fist at clouds*.

LOL love that!!

[SussexRob]

Well, we have a nice clear sky, I just hope light pollution doesn't spoil the show!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Well, we have a nice clear sky, I just hope light pollution doesn't spoil the show!

Ive never observed the Lyrids before. I cant tell you how bright or fast/slow they are. Like everything in astronomy...........if you are observing above streetlights it may be an issue. If LP is an issue in the general direction of the radiant (that is East),simply turn your back so you are looking west and observe directly overhead.

Essentially (and this is a no-brainer) you need to find the darkest least LP area in your observing location.

I just checked outside. Clear but with a threat of a thin layer of cloud moving west to east. Lyra is nice and high already to the NE

No meteors spotted.

I'll keep checking. Could be a long night and i may still be checking at 5am.

[Mr Moff]

I've had just enough to see Polaris,that's it though.I'm not putting anything away for a few hours yet.

Danny.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I've had just enough to see Polaris,that's it though.I'm not putting anything away for a few hours yet.

Danny.

What gear do you have out to observe the meteors? All you need is a camera on a fixed tripod and your eyes.

[Ant]

I saw 4 nice ones while setting up the camera. Another while relaxing with a coffee... Now we have wall to wall cloud

The Lyrids tend to be quite quick, but bright and are quite likely to leave trains.

As others have said, get yourself outside, sit in a reclining (if poss) chair and look up.

The better your skies the more you'll see, but even from moderately light polluted skies you should see a few.

Any time after dark is good, although after midnight is generally better than before.

Cheers

Ant

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Lyrids tend to be quite quick, but bright and are quite likely to leave trains.

That does seem to be the case. I googled them earlier and ion trains seems to be a feature. Ion trains are quite stunning to observe.

[Mr Spock]

Nothing but cloud here Time for bed I think...

[Ant]

They are, and they can hang around for a while after... these clouds are very annoying...

[GlassWalker]

Those could be satellites. Any pics yet to post?

Most seem to be coming from the East so I'm pretty sure it's the Lyrids. Saw one more naked eye visible one while out. The photos... all suck. While orange glow was low, there seemed to be just enough thin cloud high up and I can't get contrast on anything.