Leonids peak approaches.

Flukey

I've already seen a few over the past few nights. The moon makes it a bit harder, but the nights have had some good clear spells. Has anyone else seen some?

Seanie M

Thanks for the reminder Flukey.

In fact, Full Moon occurs (16th) the day before maximum (17th), so don't be expecting a vibrant shower as has been the case in previous years. One should still expect to see some bright ones, and the odd fireball - the Leonids often has many fireballs, probably due to the amount of debris in the stream, associated with it.

Seanie.

Orion

What's the difference between a fireball and a meteor?

Seanie M

Macros42 wrote:

What's the difference between a fireball and a meteor?

A fireball, or Bollide, is much more extreme in nature than a regular meteor. Intense brightness able to leave shadows on the ground, longer-than-the-norm ion trail persistence, obvious colour, explosion or breaking apart, and even sound in the form of a faint sonic boom, are what accompany a fireball. You don't forget a fireball either!

Have seen some spectacular ones in my time...

seanie.

Flukey

I was doing a bit of moon-gazing the other night. I decided to try and learn more of the names of the various features. Anyway, I ended up getting a photo I had taken of the moon previously and I labelled various features on it. I now have it on my website. The last of the moon photos there will enable you to put your cursor over some of the features and it will identify them. A sort of combination of 2 of my interests, web design and astronomy.

My Astronomy Page

MrJoeSoap

Should it be quite easy to see the meteor shower (weather permitting) with the naked eye? I'm in an area of Dublin where the stars aren't always clearly visible even on clear nights so I'm considering going a few miles west (to Maynooth possibly) to get a better view of things.

Any other recommendations?

Seanie M

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Should it be quite easy to see the meteor shower (weather permitting) with the naked eye? I'm in an area of Dublin where the stars aren't always clearly visible even on clear nights so I'm considering going a few miles west (to Maynooth possibly) to get a better view of things.

Any other recommendations?

Obviously light pollution is a problem, but, after 1am and the higher Leo gets (or after midnight if in the country), you should still see meteors.

MrJoeSoap

Seanie M wrote:

Obviously light pollution is a problem, but, after 1am and the higher Leo gets (or after midnight if in the country), you should still see meteors.

Great, thanks mate. Looking forward to it!

Flukey

I live in the Dublin suburbs too, but I do see some. The term 'shower' is a bit misleading for people who have never seen one. It gives the impression that you are going to see the sky full of meteors, but that is not true. You'll only see them occasionally so it does require patience.

They are so quick too that you are not always sure if you saw it. You sometimes get the idea that you need to see something else immediately after just to confirm that you saw it. But there is no evidence. You'll often see them out of the corner of your eye too, which puts some doubts in your mind as to whether you saw it or not. Occasionally as you turn quickly a bright star moving throught you line of sight can look like a meteor, particularly when you are on high alert for seeing one. They can come anywhere in the sky, but occasionally you do get lucky and you are looking straight at the point where one happens to pass. That's a wonderful sight.

MrJoeSoap

I've seen a few "shooting stars" alright, saw one just the other week. I'm hoping to see a couple at least this week, its always great to know there is a higher chance of seeing them because it means you get to look out for them and not just catch them out of the corner of your eye like most people might (has happened myself on a few occasions). I hope its clear at some stage over the next few nights.

Keep me posted on if you see any/many and I'll try do the same.

Oriel

What time are these usually visible at?

Flukey

The meteors can come at any time. Once it gets dark, if it is clear, go out and have a look. You will have to be patient and keep looking around, but you should see some if you stay out for a while and keep looking around. It was a beautifully clear night last night over Dublin. I saw some plus the other wonders in the sky at present, including Mars, Saturn and Orion. I even saw the rising Jupiter later, though that was well after 2am. A night like last night, without the moon, would be an ideal night for meteors. Keep looking for a few nights yet. There will be more to see.