Shooting stars & and star gazing

Davaeo09

Hey folks, just wondering does anyone have any tips for star gazing? In terms of spotting shooting stars. Last summer I spent allot of time out doors, I remember seeing allot of shooting stars, I even caught a good glimpse of 2 massive fireballs. (actually I think one of them could have been last Nov)

Is there a certain direction I should be paying close attention to?
And why does it seem that the last few nights we have had clear skies, the sky is seems more inactive than normal?

Maybe it's just me, obviously I am spending that bit less time outside at night, so it's understandable to see less, but to see none over almost a 2 hour period?

Also when is the next meteor shower? I remember catching the last bit of one last year. Was amazing!

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And while I have you here, please feel free to share stories and experiences you have while staring at the night sky

:pac::pac::pac:

Flukey

There is an upcoming meteor shower, the Perseids. It peaks in around the 12th and 13th of August. However you can see an increase in meteor activity for up to two weeks before that, and it will reduce in a comparable period after that. A meteor shower is not a one night show, as often portrayed. So take the chance on any clear night around then. The best direction to face is northeast. However, as meteors fly right across the sky you should scan wider than that rather than staring in one direction. On any given night you can potentially see a meteor. The showers are just an increased amount of activity, usually because we are passing through a dusty part of space, often from the tail of a comet. So obviously it makes more sense to look in the weeks around a shower.

With the shorter nights and the nights not getting quite as dark, the summer months aren't the greatest for star gazing. Also, in our part of the world, the best constellations are on view during the winter months. However, no matter what the time of year, there is always something to see in the night sky. So if it is clear go out and look. Even if you don't know what exactly it is you are seeing, there are wonders up there, be they stars, planets, constellations, comets, satellites, galaxies and more. If you are living in a rural area you will see more, due to the lack of light pollution. But even in urban areas, you can see a lot. One advantage of light pollution is that it is easier to pick out the brighter stars and ones that are visible but not so bright, as there are less stars visible to confuse them with.

The first tip is to do as I said and just go out and look. Come into forums like this regularly and you will see threads and posts about what is currently on view. If there is something particularly bright, there are always people coming in to us to ask what it is they are seeing, so current information is always here.

There are lots of websites that will tell you what can be seen from your location at any time. http://www.heavens-above.com is amongst those we always recommend, but there are many more. There are also free software programs that you can download too. When you begin to get to know your way around think about investing in a star atlas and a pair of binoculars. Leave the idea of getting a telescope until much later. Binoculars will do a great job, and even those of us that own telescopes still rely on binoculars for most of our star gazing. You already have the interest, so now it is a matter of building on it. So when you are not out looking up, we hope to see you looking in here.

Davaeo09

Thanks very much mate! Very informative! I might just do that (the binoculars part). I've always been kind of interested in space/astronomy/science since a young age, just never really did any thing about it.

How much would a decent set put me back?

Flukey

If you are buying, go for a set of 10 x 50 as a good start. As for price, well it is years since I got mine, so I can't really advise you. There may be some other threads here with that kind of advice. Lidl and Aldi do cheap ones every so often, but I don't know how good they are. You are on the net so do a bit of research and look at eBay too.

Don't forget the star atlas. That is useful even if you are just using the naked eye. Any good bookshop will have loads of them. Flick through some of them and see what it is in them. They'll all have maps of the 88 constellations and maps of the sky as seen at different parts of the world at different parts of the year. They'll all have general information on stars and galaxies and other things to see. Because the planets are constantly moving they won't appear on the maps. Sites like Heavens Above will help you there.

Jupiter is going to become prominent in the coming months, rising in the east each night, slightly earlier all the time. It is after midnight when it rises now, but as we continue our orbit of the sun and it does its own orbit, it will be earlier. So through the winter months it will be around earlier and be visible throughout the night, once it gets dark. It will be very bright and so it will be easy to spot. Once it does start getting really noticeable, you'll have people coming in here to ask what was the really bright object they saw in the sky last night. You'll already know.

Rubecula

Not sure if it will be helpful, but as a youngster my best mate and I used to do a bit with the scopes, looking at whatever, taking notes and so on. then we would finish off (if the weather was fine) by getting a couple of kitchen chairs and laying a builder's plank between them. Then we would lay on the plank head to head so we could look in opposite directions and keep watch for 'shooting stars'. This was particularly effective during major meteor stoms. We kept ver intricate notes and spotted a lot of things with the naked eye. Not sure my old bones would appreciate me doing that now, but back then we were effective and enjoyed it.

kitkat.3b4t

Hi Daveo
I dont have any tips, but Im surprised you didnt see any activity on thr 21st. Im not sure if I saw shooting stars or what they were, but there were loads of lights moving around thy sky. Did anyone else see such activity? does anyone know what was happening. I look at the sky most nights but have never seen lights like these before.

Popoutman

For watching meteors, the best way to see them is by naked eye, and in comfort.
Find a deckchair or lounger, put a decent cushion on it, and dress for about 20 degrees lower than the actual temperature (you'll be lying still for long periods).
I dress up in thermal pants and top, fleecey pants and top, tracksuit bottoms tucked between the inner thin socks and the outer thick socks, decent pair of boots, gore-tex or equivalent rain pants and jacket, wooly hat and a decent pair of gloves. I also bring out a flask of hot full-sugar Ribena and a few snackbars.
Find a location that you can lie back in comfort and rest your head and still be looking upwards at 30 degrees or more, with as wide an expanse of sky visible as possible. Get to somewhere where there are no artificial lights shining on you bright enough to cast shadows, as this should allow your eyes to dark-adapt enough to see the fainter ones.
Get relaxed and alert, keep scanning around a particular area and keeping an eye out for flashes out of the corner of your eyes.
Doing this on an ordinary dark night without a moon should net you a meteor about every 8 minutes or so on average. You'll have to get dark adapted, which takes 20-30 minutes or so in darkness to properly see the faint stuff - look at the stars and see how many fainter ones become visible as you get accustomed to the dark.

More useful advice: http://www.meteorwatch.org/science-observing/how-to-observe-meteors/