Perseid metor showah tonight!

[Rum]

From the BBC at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10941034

Meteor spectacle 'set to dazzle'

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.

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) said the relatively warm summer nights would make this meteor shower one of the more comfortable to watch.

[Faithfree]

Unfortunately Perseus won't hit the horizon here until after 3am, and anyway its cloudy and pissing with rain.

[Jay G]

When will we be able to see it in NY?

[Rum]

When will we be able to see it in NY?

Where's Meeky when you need him.

If you can see the constellation of Persius and/or Aries then you should see them. You are roughly 5 or six hours later than us and the showers are active so any time when it is dark...if you can see that part of the sky as I say.

[Jay G]

When will we be able to see it in NY?

Where's Meeky when you need him.

If you can see the constellation of Persius and/or Aries then you should see them. You are roughly 5 or six hours later than us and the showers are active so any time when it is dark...if you can see that part of the sky as I say.

Thanks. Enjoy the show.

[mistermack]

When will we be able to see it in NY?

Where's Meeky when you need him.

If you can see the constellation of Persius and/or Aries then you should see them. You are roughly 5 or six hours later than us and the showers are active so any time when it is dark...if you can see that part of the sky as I say.

They are perseids, meaning that they appear to emanate from perseus. But they don't light up immediatly so Perseus isn't really where to look. The best place to look is in the summer triangle, early on, and towards Pegasus later in the night.

To find the summer triangle, use the big dipper or saucepan. Follow a line in the saucepan, from the bottom star near the handle, bisect the first two stars of the handle (nearest the pot) and keep going till you come to Vega, the first very bright star. (about 1.5 saucepans-length from the saucepan). It's in a very small constellation called LYRA. Then keep going on that line to the next very bright star. (about one more saucepan). That's Altair, in AQUILA. It's the middle star in a straight row of three. The row of three points straight back at Vega. To find Deneb, the third bright star of the Summer Triangle, in Cygnus, follow the original line from the saucepan to Vega, go a tiny bit of a saucepan farther, then turn 90 deg. to the right and go three quarters of a saucepan length, it's the next very bright star.
The summer triangle is one of the best features in the norther sky to recognise and navigate from.

[FBM]

And thunderstorms here.

[Mysturji]

I live in England!

[owtth]

When will we be able to see it in NY?

According to Space.com

"As Earth rotates, the side facing the direction of its orbit around the Sun tends to scoop up more space debris. This part of the sky is directly overhead at dawn. For this reason, the Perseids and other meteor showers (and also random shooting stars in general) are usually best viewed in the predawn hours."

but most articles I've read have said that any time after midnight is usually good viewing, coupled with the ideal conditions for this shower it could be wonderful.

Edit: As I sat down to type this the skies were clear, now I hear thunder and it's getting overcast. Damn you Thor! I was gonna go see his movie and everything.
Storms usually pass quickly here though.

[mistermack]

most articles I've read have said that any time after midnight is usually good viewing, coupled with the ideal conditions for this shower it could be wonderful.

I was out for half an hour the night before last. There were regular meteors, and they were quite spread-out over a big area. They are supposed to be best after midnight, because they hit the atmosphere more head on, so they are more energetic.
The only other time I've bothered to look, I went out on the "best" night, and stood for half an hour, but didn't see one.
.

[owtth]

I went out on the "best" night, and stood for half an hour, but didn't see one.
.

The first time I saw them was completely by accident I was with a few friends in a fairly isolated part of Ireland, we may have had a few drinks and were lying in a field (we were underage) looking up at a pristine sky, we saw one every 30-40 seconds it was only later that I learned it was a regular occurrence. Maybe lying on your back improves your odds, now that I mention it, I scored too, so lying on your back definitely improves your odds. Fact.

[mistermack]

You will see more in Ireland because it's darker there. My mother came from near Ennis, the skies there are unbelievably clear and dark there. You can see about a hundred times as many stars there as you can here, and they are much brighter.
But a lot of the meteors are bright anyway, so the brighter ones are easy to make out.
The only things I ever scored with in Ireland were midges. You'll get thousands of love bites, because midges love biting.
.

[owtth]

You will see more in Ireland because it's darker there. My mother came from near Ennis, the skies there are unbelievably clear and dark there. You can see about a hundred times as many stars there as you can here, and they are much brighter.
But a lot of the meteors are bright anyway, so the brighter ones are easy to make out.
The only things I ever scored with in Ireland were midges. You'll get thousands of love bites, because midges love biting.
.

Yeah, midges don't count. For every 100 strong scout troop there are 400,000 midges Made up fact as is God's will. What pisses me off is that I lived for about three years in very dark conditions i.e. Kerry (Spuds'll get it) and never knew there were annual meteor showers, that shit should be mandatory for any teacher that has the wish to instil the tiniest sense of awe in young students.

[Pappa]

I went out on the "best" night, and stood for half an hour, but didn't see one.
.

The first time I saw them was completely by accident I was with a few friends in a fairly isolated part of Ireland, we may have had a few drinks and were lying in a field (we were underage) looking up at a pristine sky, we saw one every 30-40 seconds it was only later that I learned it was a regular occurrence. Maybe lying on your back improves your odds, now that I mention it, I scored too, so lying on your back definitely improves your odds. Fact.

I saw it in Newcastle in 1999 or 2000. The sky was clouded over all night and we were about to go home. Suddenly the cloud cleared and I was completely gobsmacked. The sky was like a green firestorm. Apparently it was one of the best years for it.

[Mysturji]

So how was it last night?