Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Sky-watchers could be in for "fantastic views" over the next two days as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.According to Nasa, the shower could produce a display of up to 80 meteors per hour. "A waxing crescent moon will set before the shower becomes active, setting a perfect stage for meteor watching," said the US space agency on its website. Experts are urging people to head away from city lights for the best views. John Mason from the British Astronomical Association (BAA) told BBC News: "Weather-permitting, we should be in for a very good show across the UK. "The shower has been ongoing for a week now and we have already seen some very bright meteors whizzing overhead." The Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Every 133 years, the huge comet swings through the inner part of our Solar System and leaves behind a trail of dust and gravel. When Earth passes through the debris, specks hit our atmosphere at 140,000mph and disintegrate in flashes of light. The peak of the meteor shower occurs just two days after a new Moon, meaning that Earth's natural satellite will not provide any extra light pollution to spoil the view. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10941034 Meteor hunters should head west for the best view of this evening's Perseid meteor shower, according to weather forecasters.The Perseids reach a peak of activity tonight and will be most visible in Britain at 11pm, in areas where the skies are dark and cloud free. Astronomers are expecting a dazzling light show with more than 60 shooting stars zipping across the sky every hour. The bright streaks are caused by tiny particles of debris from a comet burning up in the Earth's atmosphere at 135,000mph. Much of the cloud hanging over the country will break up this evening, but a low pressure system over the North Sea is expected to push a fresh band of cloud over eastern regions, the Met Office said. "Somewhere well-sheltered from the northerly wind and in a western part of the country is the most likely place for the cloud to break," a Met Office spokeswoman said. "Further east, there is a chance you'll end up with showers and cloud blocking the view from time to time." The clearest skies are expected over the coasts of Dorset and south Wales and eastern parts of Devon. The south-eastern regions of Northern Ireland, and Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland are also expected to have cloud-free skies. British astronomers are collecting tweets from meteor-spotters, which will be turned into a map showing where the most shooting stars are being seen around the world. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/aug/12/perseid-meteor-shower-view-west No clouds so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_ichikawa Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Manchester is overcast though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Manchester is overcast though.... It looked like a bright shooting star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 overcast on the south-coast too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Only seen one so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Two planes a Chinese lantern and a persistent moth to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 2nd sighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 In the south of France - would've expected clear skies here, but nope, cloudy. Talking of meteors I'll never forget the Leonids several years ago. Probably saw one every couple of seconds on average (and conditions weren't great), sometimes two or three at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 A Cat Sh1tting in my Garden and another plane... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 3rd sighting, all in the same direction so defiantly the Meteor shower, coming from the North East. Sorry, North North West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 In the south of France - would've expected clear skies here, but nope, cloudy. Talking of meteors I'll never forget the Leonids several years ago. Probably saw one every couple of seconds on average (and conditions weren't great), sometimes two or three at once. Nothing like that so far more like just seeing a bright shooting star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 A couple more, faint though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 One every couple of minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosh Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Stunningly clear sky in my part of surrey. Been outside 30 minutes and have seen only 2 shooting stars. Now have a stiff neck. expected many more. Never mind, cut backs even affecting space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingding Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Clear as a bell in my area and I have been lying in my garden on a binbag with a beer for about an hour. Seen some absolute corkers go overhead, most so far about three or four in a couple of minutes. I remember many years ago watching this and seeing nothing for about an hour and was about to pack it in until what I can only describe as a enormous greenish fireball streaked over from one end of the sky to another leaving a long trail behind it. Never seen the like since, truly awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Well I'm off for a wee, a couple of paracetamol and to try and fashion some sort of neck brace out of a scarf. It's just like seeing shooting stars but with more frequency, so your not missing much :-) Goodnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 When looking from outside (less light interference) you can actually see a light trail on some of them, which is pretty cool. Screw it, I'm going to stay out longer and watch a bit more of natural reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Clear as a bell in my area and I have been lying in my garden on a binbag with a beer for about an hour. Seen some absolute corkers go overhead, most so far about three or four in a couple of minutes. I remember many years ago watching this and seeing nothing for about an hour and was about to pack it in until what I can only describe as a enormous greenish fireball streaked over from one end of the sky to another leaving a long trail behind it. Never seen the like since, truly awesome. It would be great to see that, I don't think my neck will hold out though, wiss I have a sun lounger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingding Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 It would be great to see that, I don't think my neck will hold out though, wiss I have a sun lounger. It really was, I'll remember it for the rest of my days I think. Given up now, the Mrs came out to find me lying on a rubbish bag with an empty beer can next to our bins. She said I looked more Rab C. Nesbitt than Patrick Moore and to get my fat **** back indoors before the neighbours wonder what I'm doing. Till next year I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikhail Liebenstein Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I was out for about an hour last night. Not as frequent as the 1-3 minutes suggested, but there were some big bright shooting starts. Most seemed to be going North to South, though I thought I saw some exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 It really was, I'll remember it for the rest of my days I think. Given up now, the Mrs came out to find me lying on a rubbish bag with an empty beer can next to our bins. She said I looked more Rab C. Nesbitt than Patrick Moore and to get my fat **** back indoors before the neighbours wonder what I'm doing. Till next year I suppose. They are going past again tonight, doesn't look hopeful though http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/satpics/latest_IR.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resolve Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 I was out for about an hour last night. Not as frequent as the 1-3 minutes suggested, but there were some big bright shooting starts. Most seemed to be going North to South, though I thought I saw some exceptions. I noticed that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Astronomy is a bit crap, isn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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