Meteor Shower Tonight and Tomorrow

[Brian Johnson]

Check it out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090811/sc_space/strongmeteorshowerexpectedtonight

[PPI Tim]

I think it is going the be cloudy when the shower is starting.

[PPI Karl]

What's sort of gift should I bring to a meteor shower?  Would a "Heaven Sent" baby tee be appropriate?

[PPI Tim]

How about large glowing rocks?

[Brian Johnson]

Does anyone want to get together tonight or tomorrow for the meteor shower?  I've never seen one so it would be nice to have someone there who knows what to look for.

[PPI Brian]

Sorry Brian, but 3:00 am is too late for me on a work night. 

Your best bet is to get a Chaise Lounge and lay on your back in your backyard. Get a jacket, because it gets cool that late at night. Although the radiant for this shower is in the north east, it's best not to look directly at the radiant. Rather you should look straight up with the constellation on the edge of your vision. Robert Lunsford from the American Meteor Society describes the best viewing method as follows:

Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is a sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located below the horizon.

[PPI Karl]

Likewise, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have the wherewithal to stay up all night watching the meteor shower.  If you can do it, Brian, don't miss it.  It's a lot of fun.   

[PPI Tracy]

is there a time that you can watch it, for people like me that get up at "Zero Dark-30"?

[PPI Brian]

Yes, meteor showers generally last for a very long time. I managed to spot a couple Perseids last night even though the radiant was still below the horizon. The Perseids are active from July 13th through August 26th. Generally speaking, any bright meteor you see streaking from North to South is probably related to the Perseid shower.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, meteor activity really kicks into high gear in August. This is primarily due to the Perseid shower that peaks on August 12th. This is the most active shower of the month and remains above the level of the sporadic background meteors for a week centered on August 12. The sporadic activity is also increasing as seen from the northern hemisphere and is now nearly double the rates from just three months ago.

So if you want to try and catch a cool meteor, get out that chaise lounge, lay back and look straight up into the darkest part of the sky. Let your eyes soak up the stars and just chill out. Don't look away or you might miss one!