Tag Archives: Perseids

Dark Sky Painting 2 – We live in Space

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Dark Sky Painting one dealt with the impact of light pollution on bees and other insects. It also sought to teach children and viewers of the painting about the night sky . Dark Sky Painting two deals with the effects humans have on our planets bird species and their habitats.  On Earth there are multitudes of birds in trouble from pollution and habitat interference of all kinds. For this project we focused on just two, Barn Owls and Swifts. The constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia featured as did some perseid meteors. The workshop led up to the perseid meteor shower.  The children were prepared to view, should they have clear skies. They were given notes with a map showing the location of the constellations involved. The children learnt about the effects humans have on our planet. Actions that can cause the decline of some birds species. We share the Earth with Barn Owls and Swifts. Both species are in severe decline in … Continue reading →

Skyward: September 2018

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This entry is part 9 of 18 in the series Skyward by David Levy

When Meteors Graze the Sky If I were just getting started in astronomy, who knows what field would have attracted me? In the 1960s it was comets, and I have no regrets. And notwithstanding the truism that there are no ifs in history, it is possible that I would have chosen meteors instead. Besides, meteors and comets are closely related. Each time a comet rounds the Sun, tiny specks of dust come off its surface. These specks of dust orbit the Sun in the same orbit as the parent comet, but when the Earth crosses that orbit, those specks of dust may enter the atmosphere and burn up. Thus, while we may spot a comet but once in its orbit, its meteors we can see every year. Click and scroll on this interactive display of the Perseid meteoroid stream: Because of that, throughout the year we are treated to very good shows of meteors. But each year, the same meteor … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 7, 2018

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This entry is part 55 of 113 in the series In the Sky This Week

Fall stars have appeared in the eastern predawn skies; the constellation Orion is low in the east, a thin waning crescent Moon near it for the next few days. Over the coming weeks, Orion will appear a bit higher each morning as it moves slowly towards the southeast. Mars and Saturn continue to be a great observing targets in the southern skies for weeks to come! Jupiter crawls slowly westward as the Earth continues to pull away from the giant planet; Jupiter will continue to dim over the next several weeks, and will set earlier each evening. Venus is catching up with the Earth, and appears lower each evening in the western sky at dusk. The current half-phase of Venus is quite obvious in telescopes. Southern Hemisphere: From Buenos Aires, Argentina, the waning crescent Moon and Orion appear in the east-northeastern sky predawn sky. The Moon and Orion appear flipped from how I see them in Michigan – the Moon … Continue reading →

Go Observe – The Perseids and a comet

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The Perseid Meteor Shower 2018 Facts The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the nights of August 11th /12th and 12th / 13th  2017 but any clear evening up to and a few nights after should produce some meteors. Look to the NE after midnight, look under the big W of Cassiopeia , above Perseus. The radiant of the meteor shower is in that area, however keep an eye on a much wider area for Perseids.  Earth will pass through the path of Comet Swift-Tuttle from July 17 to Aug 24. Our planet will pass through dust and particles left behind by the comet. Most of these comet particles are only the size of a grain of sand. They hit our atmosphere at approx 59 km per second and burn up.   This year the moon will not interfere with the darkness of the sky as it will be a thin crescent setting before midnight. What do you need to see the … Continue reading →

NASA Space Place: The Best Meteor Shower of the Year

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The Best Meteor Shower of the Year By Jane Houston Jones and Jessica Stoller-Conrad If you’re a fan of meteor showers, August is going to be an exciting month! The Perseid meteor shower is the best of the year, and in 2018, the peak viewing time for the shower is on a dark, moonless night—perfect for spotting meteors. The best time to look for meteors during this year’s Perseid shower is at the peak, from 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 until 4 a.m. EDT on the Aug. 13. Because the new Moon falls on the peak night, the days before and after the peak will also provide very dark skies for viewing meteors. On the days surrounding the peak, the best time to view the showers is from a few hours after twilight until dawn. Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. … Continue reading →

Leonids Meteor Shower 2017: Nov. 17-18

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The Leonid meteor is a medium strength shower that has a rare history of reaching high strength activity. The shower should be visible from both hemispheres, but viewers in the northern hemisphere will have an easier time seeing it. The meteors will appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Leo, near the bright star Regulus. Best viewing time midnight to dawn. The Moon is new this day, and will not hinder the viewing of this meteor shower. Peak: November 17-18 Active from: November 5th to November 30th Radiant: 10:08 +21.6° (see image above) Hourly Rate: 15 Velocity: 44 miles/sec (swift – 71km/sec) Parent Object: 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Source: American Meteor Society Particle Stream of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle: 1833 Leonids Meteor Storm: During the 1833 Leonids, hundreds of thousands of meteors were seen per hour! This engraving is a depiction from a first-person account of the 1833 meteor storm by minister Joseph Harvey Waggoner. Here is a simulation of what the 1833 meteor storm might have … Continue reading →

21 Precious Perseids viewing pleasure

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My observing location for the 2017 Perseids was flanked toward the east by a large stony hill. Towards the west  the Atlantic Ocean and to both the south and north by fields of sheep. All week the forecast was less than favourable. It was a treat to have a relatively clear sky. Between local time 22:40 ( 21:40UT) and 23:35 ( 22:35UT) I observed 19 beautiful Perseids. Two white ones to start then a stunning blue mag 3 which spanned the width of Ursa Major. The vast majority were white with the occasional dim red Perseid zipping in from the direction of Perseus. Several of the white variety matched magnitudes of 2 + similar in brightness to many ISS passes. Some of them entered directly overhead, they spurted and spluttered their smoky trails just in case they were not noticed. On this occasion, I did not create a drawing, but simply enjoyed watching the show. The Milky way became increasingly … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 8, 2017

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This entry is part 26 of 113 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus is a bit lower in the eastern predawn sky, and Orion is fully visible now before sunrise. The waxing gibbous Moon, just days after full,  rises in the east with the sunset, and sets in the west with at dawn. Jupiter is low in the western sky, and visible for only a short time. Saturn is high in the southern sky after sunset, and sets about 2:00 AM. The Perseid Meteor shower peaks the evening of August 11-12th; the Moon will be at Third-Quarter on August 14th. Apps used for this post: Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission app – free for the PC /MAC. … Continue reading →

Perseid Meteor Shower 2017: Aug. 11-12

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The Perseid meteor shower is a very popular annual event, with Perseid parties being held around the globe each year. Best seen from the northern hemisphere, the meteors will appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus – between the “W” of the constellation Cassiopeia, and the bright star Capella (see image above). Every year I see posts about this year’s shower being the “shower of the century” or it will be the “brightest shower in the recorded human history!” I’m not so sure about that this year… although the Perseids typically puts on a pretty good show at about 100 per hour, the waning gibbous Moon will be bright, and just to the east of the radiant; this will obscure many of the dimmer meteors. Peak: August 11-12 Active from: July 13th to August 26th Radiant: 03:12 +57.6° (see image above) Hourly Rate: 100 Velocity: 37 miles/sec (swift – 60km/sec) Parent Object: 109P/Swift-Tuttle Source: American Meteor Society … Continue reading →

Get ready the Perseids are coming

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This entry is part 4 of 12 in the series Exploring the Solar System

About 30 years ago we had a holiday in a remote location in the West of Ireland. The house was high on a grassy ridge on Bolus Head looking over St Finian’s Bay in Co Kerry. From this vantage point the 350 million year old Skellig Rocks rose like stegosaurus plates from the Atlantic Ocean. They were 16 kilometres out to sea but their jagged presence dominated the view to the South. It was early August and when darkness fell the predictable blinking of a distant lighthouse was the only manmade object discernible at sea level in the blackness. One moonless evening, the sky was crystal clear, the summer triangle was dramatically intersected by our galaxy’s river of stars, so much more touchable than the suburban view. I lay on the sun dried grass looking for Perseids, one, two, three, four, five, six, plus several in the corner of my eye within a few minutes. Time to take action, I … Continue reading →