Geminids in Tenerife

[Rumpelstiltleg]

Hello to all,

Just got back from Tenerife. The night if the 13th was a new moon and peak night for seeing the Geminids. I am new to this game but was totally blown away with the seeing at 8000ft on Teide. I have never seen the Milky Way quite so clearly. Unfortunately I had to leave my scope behind as I am still waiting for the mount to arrive. I can now see why the old hands on this site recommend beginners using binoculars first.

I was using some Leica 10x40 Ultravids and had great views of Jupiter's moons, my first view of the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda galaxy, admittedly only as a smudge, but awe inspiring nevertheless. The Plaiedes where crystal clear. I will definitely be back with the scope later in the winter.

The highlight was the Geminids. I had read that they would appear from near Castor and Pollux and this was the case. I only saw approx 8-12 in the hour I was looking out for them but they were spectacular and moving at a much faster speed than I had imagined.

If anyone is planning a holiday on Tenerife be sure to go up Teide and take your bins. Avoid any time around the full moon as it is like daylight up there.

Regards Mike

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[DirkSteele]

Teide is a great location for astronomy. I was fortunate enough to stay at the professional observatory for 2 weeks during my Astrophysics undergraduate studies and use some of the telescopes. But the best memories of my time there were just the breath taking night sky views.

[vincent1cat]

My back garden's a long way from Mt Teide but Saturday morning at 6a.m observing Gemini about five whizzed past at an unbelievable speed. Breathtaking in the black country!

[starman1969]

I might have bumped into you because I was at the Paradors hotel for the Geminids. I watched the Geminids from Los Roques over the road. I've never seen so many meteors at once, but most were quite faint & fast. The seeing was excellent as usual.