The Perseid Meteor Shower

dacogawa · 07-08-2013 4:38pm #1

It's that time of the year again!

The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak on the night of the 12th (Mon)/morning of the 13th (Tue), there is good viewing a few days beforehand & after, you'll probably see some from now until mid August if your conditions are good enough. The (waxing crescent) moon will set at 22:16 on the 11th & 22:41 on the 11th that should set up for great viewing conditions.

I've put some links with information for anyone who wants it below, If anyone has any more feel free to post them up, also at the moment the weather is looking better for Sunday night/Monday morning, I'll update this as we get closer to the peak & be asking some of my weather forum friends to help out too. Happy hunting!

How to observe meteors
http://www.meteorwatch.org/science-observing/how-to-observe-meteors/

Map of light pollution (Ireland)
http://www.shannonsideastronomyclub.com/Light_Pollution_Ireland_Burren_Starparty.jpg

Cloud map
http://www.sat24.com/en/gb

imitation · 07-08-2013 10:25pm

Just saw a beauty near Cork, towards the east, it was a bright one as its still twilight and I'm near the city. Swore I could see a trail on it, maybe it was just an after image.

dacogawa · 08-08-2013 11:50pm

OK, Monday night is not looking great, the best viewing I see at the moment is on Sunday night & the best location seems to be the south east.

I've put my forecast (take with a pince of salt) below & some of the cloud/precipitation maps. I'll try to update closer to the time.

Mostly clear in the south east around 11pm on Sunday night as cloud gradually pushes in from the north west towards dawn, Monday night/Tue looks it's cloudy with showers, there might be a few breaks late on (1 or 2am) but still more pushing in from the north west.

Sunday night/Monday morning
gfs-7-78.png?18

Monday night/Tuesday morning
gfs-7-102.png?18

JaManSnowFlake · 10-08-2013 5:22pm

If someone could wipe away the clouds for tonight, that'd be great thanks.

dacogawa · 10-08-2013 7:37pm

JaManSnowFlake wrote: »

If someone could wipe away the clouds for tonight, that'd be great thanks.

Tonight might be ok, it's a bit touch & go depending on which map you believe, Tomorrow is looking the best & is very near peak time, Monday night doesn't look the best but there might be a few breaks, will update again tomorrow

gfs-7-12.png?12

Davaeo09 · 10-08-2013 9:53pm

Looking good weather wise for tonight

Also bumping this thread so more people might see this over the next few days.

Here's hoping we get a good show!

Allyall · 11-08-2013 2:32am

Did i see one single one?
At around 10:30PM tonight, i went for a walk, and i saw a light crossing the sky.

No way was it an Aeroplane, i thought it may have been a sky lantern, but it was bright, and left a trail after about 10-15 seconds, and then fizzled out.

Altogether it was about 30 seconds long.

I was in Donabate and it was heading east.

Seillejet · 11-08-2013 10:47am

http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/08/09/perseid_meteor_shower_2013_catch_the_falling_stars.html?original_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2F

Some good tips on this but not as Specific as OP.

I think I will go view tonight.

Based in Dublin so unsure to go Phoenix Park or Dub Mountains.

dacogawa · 11-08-2013 11:05am

Tonight will have broken cloud, some partial clearing but some interruptions of passing cloud. Tomorrow night is not looking too bad in the east now, but that can change quickly...

Keep an eye on http://www.sat24.com/en/eu?ir=true or your prefered cloud map for cloud clearance in your area

Allyall wrote: »

Did i see one single one?
At around 10:30PM tonight, i went for a walk, and i saw a light crossing the sky.

No way was it an Aeroplane, i thought it may have been a sky lantern, but it was bright, and left a trail after about 10-15 seconds, and then fizzled out.

Altogether it was about 30 seconds long.

I was in Donabate and it was heading east.

It could have been the ISS or some other satellite, I haven't checked the passover times but the perseids are usually only a quick burst (1/3/5 sec)

Seillejet wrote: »

http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/08/09/perseid_meteor_shower_2013_catch_the_falling_stars.html?original_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2F

Some good tips on this but not as Specific as OP.

I think I will go view tonight.

Based in Dublin so unsure to go Phoenix Park or Dub Mountains.

I'd personally go for the mountains, also keep an eye on the cloud map as it looks like it will be broken cloud tonight so its a now-cast situation, the park might be a better option, there is a republic of astronomy meet up at the sugar loaf & they've invited people along , you can see the details on their facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/ROAIRL

mickmackey1 · 11-08-2013 11:33am

Saw a beautiful Perseid at 01.15, almost a fireball, heading north from within the constellation boundaries itself.

Hoof_Hearted · 11-08-2013 11:39am

Allyall wrote: »

Did i see one single one?
At around 10:30PM tonight, i went for a walk, and i saw a light crossing the sky.

No way was it an Aeroplane, i thought it may have been a sky lantern, but it was bright, and left a trail after about 10-15 seconds, and then fizzled out.

Altogether it was about 30 seconds long.

I was in Donabate and it was heading east.

The ISS passed at 11pm last night so it could have been this. I saw it from the beach, three perseids too and this morning the ISS again!

Allyall · 11-08-2013 11:50am

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

The ISS passed at 11pm last night so it could have been this. I saw it from the beach, three perseids too and this morning the ISS again!

Yep, it was indeed about 11. I remember now because i was indoors at 10:30 and i can remember someone being asked if the Xbox could go back on.
The answer given was "No, it's after half-ten"...

I had no idea it would be so clear, i only heard recently tha it was possible to see.
I came here to see if anything was in the Sky, so thought it may have been the Meteor shower (one of them) when i heard about it.

Will be keeping an eye out for the meteor shower tonight.

dacogawa · 11-08-2013 12:09pm

You can keep an eye on these two links for ISS & other sats passing over as well

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=Ireland&region=None&city=Dublin#.UgdwX5LrzxC
http://www.heavens-above.com/

murphyme2010 · 11-08-2013 1:33pm

Allyall wrote: »

Did i see one single one?
At around 10:30PM tonight, i went for a walk, and i saw a light crossing the sky.

No way was it an Aeroplane, i thought it may have been a sky lantern, but it was bright, and left a trail after about 10-15 seconds, and then fizzled out.

Altogether it was about 30 seconds long.

I was in Donabate and it was heading east.

I was in Portmarnock with the dublin stargazers and saw one at around 10:30 so It could have been that one. It was bright enough to be seen behind cloud. It was traveling North to South in the Eastern side of the Sky but was only a few seconds long.

Michael.

spookwoman · 11-08-2013 3:27pm

Lot of patchy cloud last night, the night before there was a lot more stars out. Managed to get a picture of 1 I did't even see. Last night saw 1 orange small fireball and lots of small ones through the breaks. Looks cloudy again tonight, always the same every year bloody clouds.

Dave! · 11-08-2013 5:03pm

Any suggestions for spots in Dublin (and times!) to check this out?

Allyall · 11-08-2013 6:23pm

Dave! wrote: »

Any suggestions for spots in Dublin (and times!) to check this out?

Donabate? Pretty dark out that way. I was walking along the coast when i saw whatever i saw, and there was not a cloud in sight.

Although there may be clouds tonight, it's away from a lot of the light pollution.
Or if you are on the southside, the foot of the wicklow mountains?

Christian Today

BEST TIME TO VIEW:
The optimal viewing time is in the predawn hours. The shooting stars will be visible until early Tuesday morning. Viewing will be limited before midnight, so observers are advised to view the stars later in the evening.

http://news.yahoo.com/perseid-meteor-shower-peaks-weekend-watch-online-tonight-153217562.html

http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors

The next meteor shower is the Perseids on the nights of August 11 and 12

At its best, under dark skies, you might see a score or so “shooting stars” per hour. The Moon sets by late evening.

Is1ldur · 12-08-2013 1:19pm

Stupid question I know. But which direction should I be looking this evening when I go out (clouds permitting!), N/S/E/W?

Grahamb23 · 12-08-2013 3:13pm

Where around the clonmel area???? and what time should I be out at to get the best views of the shower????

Tzetze · 12-08-2013 4:12pm

Is1ldur wrote: »

Stupid question I know. But which direction should I be looking this evening when I go out (clouds permitting!), N/S/E/W?

The point out of which most of them appear from (radiant) is rising in the NE as darkness arrives. They can travel in any direction from the radiant and some will appear on a course that seems to have nothing to do with the radiant. Get comfy in a lying position with a view of NE-SW or E-W and you should see plenty.

I saw a few impressive ones last night and one in particular was a real beauty. Had set the camera and laptop up to take shots all through the night but when I woke up this morning I found there'd been a crash and 240-odd shots were saved to laptop at 0KB filesize

I wasn't lucky enough to capture any of the impressive ones (need a wider lens!), but I did find one faint meteor almost hidden by cloud in one shot, so it wasn't a total loss.

Perseid 12/08/13 by .Tzetze., on Flickr

Hoof_Hearted · 12-08-2013 4:15pm

Is1ldur wrote: »

Stupid question I know. But which direction should I be looking this evening when I go out (clouds permitting!), N/S/E/W?

Not stupid at all, my answer would be 'UP', honestly they can appear anywhere. What I do is get the sun chair out, recline and keep my eyes on the sky. Good luck for a break in the clouds.

Lelantos · 12-08-2013 4:18pm

Is1ldur wrote: »

Stupid question I know. But which direction should I be looking this evening when I go out (clouds permitting!), N/S/E/W?

North east is the best suggestion from met eireann

roast · 12-08-2013 4:20pm

Went out the country with the OH last night, but it was way too cloudy to see anything.

Hoping tonight is better.

ps200306 · 12-08-2013 5:19pm

From around midnight last night a big strip of heavy cloud lay from south west to north east across the country, according to IR map. Cleared eastward so the east coast cleared from the top down. I was in south east corner so only got a partial clearance around 3am, enough to see one tiddler pass from the radiant through Cassiopeia. Was talking to someone up Drogheda direction on mobile and it had cleared a good bit earlier, as per sat map. This afternoon, vis sat map shows heavy cloud arcing down from north west, so I don't hold out much hope for tonight. Will keep the eyes peeled though, just in case.

For direction, look eastward wherever you are. Radiant rises in northeast about 9pm, is high enough in the east about midnight to be worth watching. If you have a clear sky, find the big 'W' of Cassiopeia. The second stroke of the W (second and third stars) point down toward the east to Perseus, about three stroke lengths. Find the big 'K' of Perseus (three backbone stars and two bright points of the 'K'). The radiant is just above the K.

TheFense · 12-08-2013 6:01pm

Thinking of going up towards Sally gap from templeogue tonight, looking to get some astro photos. Is there any popular spots to view, bit reluctant to go on my own but will anyway, it would be good to have an idea where there might be some like minded people if anyone knows of some good spots?

dacogawa · 12-08-2013 6:21pm

Tonight looks clear for the early part of the night but cloud will roll in from the Atlantic late on, the east/south east will probably have the best views for longest.

If anyone is looking for a place along the east/south east I recommend Newcastle beach, Wicklow (low light pollution) & Morriscastle Beach, Wexford (no light pollution) I was at Morriscastle last night and snapped a few, I'll upload later. There's also a light pollution map link for Ireland on the first post in this thread.

Happy hunting but do get out early as it might not last too long

dacogawa · 12-08-2013 6:47pm

Here's 2 pics from last night on Morristown beach, the 2nd shows just how much of the milky way you can see from proper dark skies

EF443B79DDBB4F0BB15E1CEB0FFE4E4F-0000354423-0003337328-00800L-6727AC6F165B4E59B5B3E3FCB8E27FDC.jpg

EF443B79DDBB4F0BB15E1CEB0FFE4E4F-0000354423-0003337328-00800L-6727AC6F165B4E59B5B3E3FCB8E27FDC.jpg

D588FA52044D4ADE8056F260DA0F6FEA-0000354423-0003337327-00800L-8A0B7397515346318BE73CAAC64E02FA.jpg

TheFense · 12-08-2013 6:51pm

Good stuff, I had a fantastic view of the milky way from Ballymoney the night before last, no camera with me

Im set up for the coming nights

ps200306 · 12-08-2013 7:05pm

dacogawa wrote: »

Tonight looks clear for the early part of the night but cloud will roll in from the Atlantic late on, the east/south east will probably have the best views for longest.

If anyone is looking for a place along the east/south east I recommend Newcastle beach, Wicklow (low light pollution) & Morriscastle Beach, Wexford (no light pollution) I was at Morriscastle last night and snapped a few, I'll upload later. There's also a light pollution map link for Ireland on the first post in this thread.

Happy hunting but do get out early as it might not last too long

What time did you get those snaps at? I'm just a couple of miles down the road from you in Blackwater, but had it mostly cloudy while I was watching (1am to 3am approx.)

Lovely snaps by the way. Any chance of a quick summary of the camera settings you used? I have a Canon EOS 50D.

ps200306 · 12-08-2013 7:24pm

TheFense wrote: »

Thinking of going up towards Sally gap from templeogue tonight, looking to get some astro photos. Is there any popular spots to view, bit reluctant to go on my own but will anyway, it would be good to have an idea where there might be some like minded people if anyone knows of some good spots?

Don't want to deter you, and you'd be the latest of several people who've told me they'll be going up the mountains to watch the shower ("getting closer to the sky"), but the Sally Gap and the Wicklow mountains in general is the absolute last place I would go to watch. First, the Sally Gap isn't really far enough from Dublin to avoid the light pollution, although it's fair to say it'll be better than Templeogue. More importantly, it's likely to have worse cloud cover than practically anywhere else. In any kind of humid air flow, the mountains make their own clouds and its extremely common to see clouds sitting over the Wicklow hills (and to the leeward in east Wicklow) when it's clear everywhere else. I drive up and down to Wexford all the time and it's amazing how often it's cloudy through Wicklow, and raining on the Arklow bypass, but clear to the south.

So my advice would be to take the N81 to Blessington or beyond, or preferably even further west than that (but stay well clear of Naas) so that you are well to the windward of the mountains. You'll get there quicker and have a much better chance of clear skies.

spookwoman · 12-08-2013 7:34pm

Fingers crossed there will be some clear skies later and some good views. Got 2 pics the other night dont think the first was a perseid came from wrong direction 2nd one was.

The Perseid Meteor Shower

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