Cheeky Monkey
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2003
- 23,733
Anyone know anything about this? Apparently loads of people heading up there to watch (dunno exactly where)
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Meteors Landing on the South Downs Tonight?!
- Thread starter Cheeky Monkey
- Start date
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
I hear sirens.
dougdeep
New member
Enter Perseids in your search engine.
Tomorrow and Monday night are probably better.
August 12 and 13th every year we pass through the Perseids in our orbit round the sun. It is riddled with meteors left over from some comet or other. We get hundreds of shooting stars as the little meteors enter our atmosphere.
As it happens just before my birthday it is something that I remember quite clearly. Try and get away from the lights of a town and you should see a spectacular display although the best is between midnight to 4am each night.
August 12 and 13th every year we pass through the Perseids in our orbit round the sun. It is riddled with meteors left over from some comet or other. We get hundreds of shooting stars as the little meteors enter our atmosphere.
As it happens just before my birthday it is something that I remember quite clearly. Try and get away from the lights of a town and you should see a spectacular display although the best is between midnight to 4am each night.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 72,010
Sunday night/Monday morning between midnight and 4am is supposed to be the optimum viewing times according to the papers.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
2007 Meteor Showers and Viewing Tips
http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/
The next meteor shower is the Perseids on August 12. This year there’s no moonlight to interfere. The best time to watch is from 11 p.m. August 12 until dawn the next morning. The best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest. If you have a dark sky, you may see a meteor once a minute on average. The shower is also active for several days before and after its peak.
Name Date of Peak Moon Phase
Quadrantids January 4 Full Moon
Lyrids April 22 Evening crescent
Eta Aquarids May 6 Morning gibbous
Delta Aquarids July 28 Full Moon
Perseids August 12 New Moon
Orionids October 21 Evening gibbous
Leonids November 18 Evening gibbous
Geminids December 14 Evening crescent
What are meteor showers?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower.
Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.
What are shooting stars?
"Shooting stars" and "falling stars" are both names that people have used for many hundreds of years to describe meteors -- intense streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth's upper atmosphere. Traveling at thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite in searing friction of the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.
When a meteor appears, it seems to "shoot" quickly across the sky, and its small size and intense brightness might make you think it is a star. If you're lucky enough to spot a meteorite (a meteor that makes it all the way to the ground), and see where it hits, it's easy to think you just saw a star "fall."
How can I best view a meteor shower?
If you live near a brightly lit city, drive away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate.
For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August.
After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruin your sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites.
Once you have settled at your observing spot, lay back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.
How do I know the sky is dark enough to see meteors?
If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have "dark adapted," and your chosen site is probably dark enough. Under these conditions, you will see plenty of meteors.
What should I pack for meteor watching?
Treat meteor watching like you would the 4th of July fireworks. Pack comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drinks, blankets, plus a red-filtered flashlight for reading maps and charts without ruining your night vision. Binoculars are not necessary. Your eyes will do just fine.
http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/
The next meteor shower is the Perseids on August 12. This year there’s no moonlight to interfere. The best time to watch is from 11 p.m. August 12 until dawn the next morning. The best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest. If you have a dark sky, you may see a meteor once a minute on average. The shower is also active for several days before and after its peak.
Name Date of Peak Moon Phase
Quadrantids January 4 Full Moon
Lyrids April 22 Evening crescent
Eta Aquarids May 6 Morning gibbous
Delta Aquarids July 28 Full Moon
Perseids August 12 New Moon
Orionids October 21 Evening gibbous
Leonids November 18 Evening gibbous
Geminids December 14 Evening crescent
What are meteor showers?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower.
Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.
What are shooting stars?
"Shooting stars" and "falling stars" are both names that people have used for many hundreds of years to describe meteors -- intense streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth's upper atmosphere. Traveling at thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite in searing friction of the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.
When a meteor appears, it seems to "shoot" quickly across the sky, and its small size and intense brightness might make you think it is a star. If you're lucky enough to spot a meteorite (a meteor that makes it all the way to the ground), and see where it hits, it's easy to think you just saw a star "fall."
How can I best view a meteor shower?
If you live near a brightly lit city, drive away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate.
For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August.
After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruin your sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites.
Once you have settled at your observing spot, lay back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.
How do I know the sky is dark enough to see meteors?
If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have "dark adapted," and your chosen site is probably dark enough. Under these conditions, you will see plenty of meteors.
What should I pack for meteor watching?
Treat meteor watching like you would the 4th of July fireworks. Pack comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drinks, blankets, plus a red-filtered flashlight for reading maps and charts without ruining your night vision. Binoculars are not necessary. Your eyes will do just fine.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 72,010
clapham_gull
Legacy Fan
- Aug 20, 2003
- 25,745
I thought I was the victim of a meteor shower one night but it turned out to be a shoe.
I was walking down Clapham High Street in the early hours of the morning and was hit on the side of the head with a shoe.
I looked over the other side of the road and there was a bloke in a suit (very very drunk) with one shoe on. He shouted some incoherent abuse and gave me a V sign.
I never found out why he wanted to cause me physical injury or why he would go to the length of getting home semi shoeless to do so.
I was walking down Clapham High Street in the early hours of the morning and was hit on the side of the head with a shoe.
I looked over the other side of the road and there was a bloke in a suit (very very drunk) with one shoe on. He shouted some incoherent abuse and gave me a V sign.
I never found out why he wanted to cause me physical injury or why he would go to the length of getting home semi shoeless to do so.
Last edited:
cjd
Well-known member
Woodchip
It's all about the bikes
Maybe a trip to the beach (or top of Seaford Head) tomorrow night then.
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
I'm sure I saw this hovering above my house a minute ago....
../but then again maybe it was more to do with this
:yahoo:
../but then again maybe it was more to do with this
:yahoo:We were thinking the same. There's too many lights around here. We've just seen two shooting stars whilst waiting for the space station to track over (which we just about spotted)
seagullsslimjim
New member
- Sep 26, 2003
- 701
just seen the International Space Station over worthing - easy to spot as same brightness as Sirius and on Nasa site it gives the exact area of sky for you town to look at !! - Back to MoTD
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
Seconded.
Now I know why I have never been able to enjoy the 4th July fireworks. I have always forgotten to take my comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drinks, blankets, plus my red-filtered flashlight for reading maps and charts without ruining my night vision.
Michael Fish
New member
- Sep 26, 2006
- 40
shooting stars
shit loads outside , blinding
shit loads outside , blinding