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PERSEID METEOR SHOWER - Aug 11/12, 2012

Mr Q

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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The link below is one of the best Ive' seen with details on meteor descriptions and observing tips, though I abhor the use of the term "shooting stars" otherwise it's a very informative article.

So you in the U.K., keep your fingers crossed for a cloud free night :Envy: For those in the U.K., the shower peaks shortly after midnight on the 13th. For North America, the peak is during the afternoon of the 12th.

PERSEIDS

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JamesF

JamesF

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My wife claims never to have seen a meteor (which makes me wonder if she's ever really looked at the night sky :), but if the warm weather continues then I shall try to get her outside to see if we can't spot some of these on one of the next two weekends. Darkness is still a bit late for the children, but perhaps we'll try to get them out early to see if we can't at least see a few before the main peak.

James

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JB80

JB80

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That is a great link, thanks for that. :)

We're discussing whether or not we can go to a dark site in Belgium(hah) for the weekend. It's by no means essential but it would be nice to do so.

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Photosbykev

Photosbykev

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That's an interesting read. I was thinking the peak in the uk was pm on the 12th so Saturday after midnight or Sunday evening was best. It looks like I'm a night early based on that write up. Sky at Night, and other sites, say the peak is on the pm of the 12th not the 13th

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Blame Apple for the typos and me for the content

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JB80

JB80

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IMO has the peak time at 12 to 14:30 UT on the 12th, so if true we miss the peak.

However it then goes on to say....

Recent IMO observations (see HMO p. 145) found the timing of the mean or "traditional" broad maximum varied between λ⊙ ∼ 139.8° to 140.3°, equivalent to 2012 August 12, 07h to 19h30m UT. No additional peaks are anticipated this year, but this does not guarantee what will occur!

http://www.imo.net/calendar/2012#per

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JB80

JB80

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Well if it's anywhere near as pleasant as it was out there tonight then I will welcome a couple of long sessions, but that is my basic plan to spend as much time as is feasible out on both nights no matter where I am.

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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As with every year, times of the shower's peak vary depending on the several popular sources of information. What I do is watch the night before the 11/12th, then the 11th and 12th. That way I increase my chances of observing the peak - if of course the clouds or Moon interfere.

Is there a difinitive source of peak times? I'm still looking :confused:

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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I'm going to pray so hard that the weather holds up for this. Its on a weekend to so I'll be even more [removed word] if the weather doesn't hold up. Thanks for the link, great information there.

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yeti monster

yeti monster

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I shall make offerings to Tamanawanahini, the Great Drilling G*d of the Oceans, to send forth a mighty typhoon, that would put me ashore for that weekend yet keep the skies clear over the coast. My pals are organising a beach party for the 11th and it would be a great show to have some natural pyrotechnics on display....

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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Nice plan Cliff! Hopefully you will be able to upload any video of the Perseids?

Thought I was the only one doing meteor scatter listening on the FM BC band, specially during times when the peak is during the day - can't see them but can" hear"them :grin:

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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How do you go about that?

Is it just detuning the normal FM radio to fuzz?

I have a little fm/mw/sw radio, would that do the trick?

That's it. Tune to a spot between 90 and 108 MHz where no signals are heard. If a meteor leaves an ionized train, the distant (not normally heard) station will suddenly be heard for a second or two as the station's signal refracts off it, with some trains allowing signals to be heard for up to a minuet or more but most will be heard for only a few seconds. These distant stations can be up to several hundred miles from your receiving location and due to the short reception, IDing the station will be hard. The beauty of this kind of meteor "observing" is that the meteor scatter signals can be heard during the day also. Any radio that is selective enough to allow reception (static hiss) between local stations will work - in other words, if you can't hear the hiss of a vacant frequency, you won't be able to hear a meteor signal refraction.

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JB80

JB80

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Excellent, thanks for the info. I didn't think it'd be as easy as that but I'm definitely going to try this, especially if the weather is a bit poor and as you say it's good for the daytime too.

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JB80

JB80

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I'm not liking the look of my 2 week forecast, not that I have much faith in the forecasters but I have even less faith in the Belgian weather.

I might need the radio detection yet.

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BinocularSky

BinocularSky

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Saw my first Perseid of the year last night, just after 23:00 BST, as I was cycling (hence can't be more specific about the obs) on the A338 just north of Fordingbridge. It was a really bright one, that passed just to the west of the Moon.

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JB80

JB80

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We are doing a last minute search to find a nice rural gite in Belgium for this weekend. Not as easy as it would seem plus we might not be able to stay on the Sunday night too.

I'm sure we can find something though.

At least though it's reminded me to be better prepared for Leonids, I have the perfect spot for that if it's available.

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