New Mars Forums

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

*Yep...another year has rolled by and it's time for the Perseids. 

Got a calendar? Circle this date: Friday, August 12th. Next to the circle write "before sunrise" and "Meteors!" Attach all of the above to your refrigerator in plain view so you won't miss the 2005 Perseid meteor shower.

The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors.  Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th.

Lots of info in the article and includes a Sky Map. 

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005 … ds2005.htm

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

http://www.space.com/searchforlife/0508 … tml]Update

*Now is a good time to start looking for Perseids if you haven't already.  The moon is just beginning to wax again, having been New on the 5th; thus, moonlight won't interfere much (yay!). 

They're expecting higher than normal numbers of Perseids this year.  For 1.2 hours (see article for finer details) the shower may produce up to 240 meteors per hour.  Otherwise the average is 80 per hour (still very good). 

Good luck. 

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/gal … ml]Perseid Meteor Gallery

*Photos of this event are rolling in and spaceweather.com is hosting them.  I've not been able to see any; we've had storms and clouds persisting (monsoon season). 

One photo includes Mars in the frame.

More to follow as they're submitted. 

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

*Our cloudy, rainy weather has held so I've not had a chance to catch the Perseid meteor shower.  Peak activity was the 12th and apparently it was a lackluster event. 

Mr. F. Alves of Portugal caught a Perseid fireball on camera, however:

Image and info hosted by spaceweather.com. 

"This was the night's brightest Perseid," says Alves. "It exploded in mid-air, leaving behind a luminous cloud that was visible to the naked eye for several minutes."

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)