The Perseids are Coming (meteor shower) Tonight!!!

Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:19 pm » by **Newearthman**

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009 ... ds2009.htm

July 31, 2009: Earth is entering a stream of dusty debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Although the shower won't peak until August 11th and 12th, the show is already getting underway.

Don't get too excited, cautions Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "We're just in the outskirts of the debris stream now. If you go out at night and stare at the sky, you'll probably only see a few Perseids per hour."

This will change, however, as August unfolds.

"Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream sometime on August 12th. Then, you could see dozens of meteors per hour."

"Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond," explains Cooke. "They are long, slow and colorful—among the most beautiful of meteors." He notes that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show.

The filament was shed by Perseid parent comet Swift-Tuttle in the year 1610, and this is one of Earth's first encounters with it. "In addition," notes Cooke, "the main Perseid debris stream, which we run into every year, may be denser than normal due to a gravitational enhancement by Saturn. The total combination of these effects could result in as many as 200 meteors per hour (ZHR)."(http://spaceweather.com/)

Get your cameras and popcorn ready I want to see some pics on DTV (I would but I don't have the equitment)

Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:07 pm » by **Ihaveseen**

Nice post, if you're in the northwest of england, you can share my popcorn!!

Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:45 pm » by **dlslith**

Look forward to it, but my camera has been, um, taken. Nice post

Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:52 am » by **Ihaveseen**

dlslith wrote:Look forward to it, but my camera has been, um, taken. Nice post

have i missed something? What do you mean your camera has been taken mate?

Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:29 pm » by **Immortalgropher**

ihaveseen wrote:
dlslith wrote:Look forward to it, but my camera has been, um, taken. Nice post

have i missed something? What do you mean your camera has been taken mate?

MIB!!!

Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:39 pm » by **Ihaveseen**

immortalgropher wrote:
ihaveseen wrote:
dlslith wrote:Look forward to it, but my camera has been, um, taken. Nice post

have i missed something? What do you mean your camera has been taken mate?

MIB!!!

Explain mate, please

Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:49 am » by **Newearthman**

http://spaceweather.com/

INTENSIFYING PERSEIDS: The Perseid meteor rate is increasing as Earth plunges deeper into the debris stream of Comet Swift-Tuttle. International Meteor Organization observers are now counting 20 per hour: data. Forecasters say the rate could increase another tenfold to 200 per hour on peak night, Aug. 11th and 12th. Observing tips may be found in the Science@NASA story "The Perseids are Coming."

HOW HIGH IS A PERSEID? Perseid meteors seem so nearby when they fly overhead, but appearances can be deceiving. Consider the following fireball, which lit up the sky above the Marshall Space Flight Center two nights ago:

NASA astronomer Bill Cooke photographed the Perseid using not one but two all-sky cameras located 100 miles apart. The system's wide baseline, which crosses state lines between Alabama and Georgia, allowed him to triangulate the meteor's position and measure its velocity. "It came in at 58.8 km/s (130,000 mph) and disintegrated between 111 and 86 km above Earth's surface," he says.

Sun Aug 09, 2009 4:37 am » by **Newearthman**

Has anyone seen any cool meteors yet? It's cloudy here in Vancouver but it should clear up enough to see the big show on the 11th and 12th (200 per hour if your lucky)

Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:49 am » by **Ayaflash**

Last year when i went out to look at the meteor shower,i saw some amazing sights....including UFO`s...which i have been seeing a lot in the last few years. i`ll be buying a night vision something soon

...i for sure will be out watching it this year also....thank u for reminding me....i pray for clear skies

Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:01 pm » by **Ihaveseen**

Where do i look to see this meteor shower, in the direction of the moon or not?

thanks