Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks 2022 AUG 12-13

[CentaurZ]

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower is already underway. The Perseids are usually the finest shower of the year. Normally at the peak more than sixty meteors per hour may be seen by some sharp-eyed folks. The Perseids are debris from the periodic comet 109P Swift-Tuttle.

The shower is expected to peak during the night of 2022 AUG 12-13. Its radiant is in the constellation Perseus. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky.

For observers north of the tropics, the meteors appear virtually all night, although most prolifically during the hours before dawn. This year the waning gibbous Moon near the shower’s peak may provide significant interference.

Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

 

[scotty1]

On 7th August I only observed three meteors over two hours. 

I captured one just before 4am, a Persied below Taurus, this was the brightest one of the night.  

11mm wide angle lens on APSC 

 

 

[scotty1]

Sky is becoming mucky now from the N.E. with cirrus rotating around the High pressure. Must of jinxed it by charging the camera batteries. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by scotty1

[lunator]

Caught one by accident last night. 

Using my 8" dob at x50 whilst viewing a few doubles in Bootes. It was quite bright fast and white. 

Cheers

Ian

 

[Jonk]

I’ve just seen 2 or 3 brilliant streaks, but also something else which I’ve seen before during the Perseids but not sure what to make of it.

Basically, it’s a lot of very rapid streaks of light, almost like laser beams coming from a machine gun. It’s hard to explain, but saw the same a few years ago around 1am through the clouds and thought wow at the time.

I’ve just seen the same about 10 mins ago but it’s too feint to see on the allsky.

Really does look like a laser show.

It’s cool.

[Elp]

Between 11-1230 last night I saw around 8 total, two of which were fireballs one greenish and one yellowish like a match flame streaking across the sky. Later around 4 which was the recommended best time didn't really see many, probably 4 more. In dark skies without the moon this would have been something to see but as usual there's always something which stops good viewing of a meteor shower.

[Jonk]

There's always next year....and the next....and the next!

[Elp]

9 hours ago, Jonk said:

There's always next year....and the next....and the next!

It's been around 5 years for me since the last good one, even then I only stopped for around 10 minutes to see as wasn't in the best area to be left alone.

[Martin Meredith]

I took a short trip last night (13/8) to a darkish site here on Bute, hoping to catch a few Perseids before the moon became too bright, but only saw 2 or maybe 3 faint streaks, and, with no wind, got well attacked by midges for my trouble. Fortunately, the lack of people meant I could look as stupid as I liked in a towel-wrapped head + glasses which kept most of them out.

However, the jaunt was worthwhile as I saw 3 otters perched on a rock about 20m out to sea (first time I've seen otters), and was able to follow them in binocs for 10 mins as they swam across the bay. In the fading light the 3 of them in a line looked for all the world like some of the images of the Loch Ness 'Monster'...hmmm.

There is something magical about arriving at a site to set up for some astronomical activity just prior to dusk.

The preceding night sitting inside casually watching the full moon rising over the town, I caught a bright meteor shooting low across Rothesay Bay heading directly for the moon but petering out just short of its target. What a shot that would have been, but its etched upon my memory, for the moment at least.

 

[scotty1]

Between 1-4am on the 13th  I saw ten meteors, the moonlight didn't help. The brightest meteor I didn't witness as it was behind trees, but I'd set my camera up facing WNW and it captured it. A couple of years ago with a quarter moon I counted about 20 per hour. I read the Persieds are declining since the 90s, but should increase again after the next visit of the parent comet in about 100 years.

On the way home a six mile drive, the full moon was setting over a misty field on my right. On the left Venus was rising over misty fields. 

This morning the 14th,I had another look from the garden 03.15-04.00. Another four bright meteors in the NW, and NE,  one looking pale turquoise.

 

This one was with my phone about 2am on the 13th  

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by scotty1

[Adreneline]

I quickly setup an ASI120MM with ZWO lens pointing NE, ~70 degrees elevation.

The Moon glow really spoilt things but these were the best nine of over a thousand 5s exposures. Please excuse the quality.

 

 

[happy-kat]

Nice to see the meteor images. Set mine up the last two nights and caught 7 over 3 hours and 11 last night. There were some strange really bright orbiting objects that were not the ISS or planes with lights on, quite strange.

13/08/2022 

14/08/2022 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by happy-kat

[scotty1]

A few more Persieds 

This one on the 10th of August 02.25 

 

From the 13th about 01.30 

 

 

And the 14th about 02.30 

 

[scotty1]

I tried to pickup the Aurora last night, but no luck. Before I headed home I set my pixel 4a on a small tripod to take shots of the moon and Jupiter. Then just before it clouded up I pointed the phone towards the milky way. Luckily a bright Persied fell from the Cygnus area. I saw two other meteors not as bright as this one.

This was from early today 19th August 01.20