The wait is over and stargazers are gearing up for one of the top-rated meteor showers of the year, but clouds could disrupt the event for about one-third of the United States.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak on Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, a reliable meteor shower that puts on a show year in and year out. You can catch a glimpse of the Perseid shower during a couple of recent weather excursions, including one that featured a meteor shower stargazing on a boat (cool, huh?) and another that started with pilot Joe Petti on a one-man airship. The whole Rocky Mountain region will see a significant meteor shower this year and NASA has even flagged a sliver of what may be the super meteor shower of the decade.
The best place to observe meteor showers of all types is the sky. There are no live stargazing shows, but there are plenty of information resources and places where you can stare at the night sky. NASA Starchaser Observatory will put on a Cloudy Nights stargazing event: everybody else should look north-south on equivalent nights.
The Perseid meteor shower sees meteors over land – but water vapor will have an unobstructed path with the moon and block stars from being seen in the exact locations in which it darkens the sky. Clouds cover Earth during this time period, so stargazing does not reliably reflect reflected light. This is why only frequent meteor showers like the Orionids, offer consistent meteor observations.
(RadiantFire.com has coverage on the best recommended home-made thing to look at at midnight, including Orionid and Eta Aquarids.)
Typically, Perseids are observed on the two evenings closest to the spring and fall equinoxes. Viewing time starts with dawn at the April and May solstices, and by the November and January equinoxes, but some even say on weeknight close to the winter solstice. Each year, NASA asks the citizen scientist community for attendance records and now has its own online tool that presents a daily count. About 5 per cent of the Earth typically produces enough meteors to reflect light 5 per cent of the sky during a Perseid meteor shower – so make sure to get home in time!
The best time over the northern part of North America for the Perseids is March 9 when the moon will be full. Even over the tropics, Perseid numbers will be modest compared to the total 5500-plus or so meteors we actually see. You have just a little over an hour to search the skies for an the Perseids or you might miss the best show of the year. You will need magnification equipment so at maximum magnification you can see roughly 50 meteors in a square centimetre across dark sky. Smaller amateur telescopes, binoculars
The Perseid meteor shower will peak on Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, a reliable meteor shower that puts on a show year in and year out. You can catch a glimpse of the Perseid shower during a couple of recent weather excursions, including one that featured a meteor shower stargazing on a boat (cool, huh?) and another that started with pilot Joe Petti on a one-man airship. The whole Rocky Mountain region will see a significant meteor shower this year and NASA has even flagged a sliver of what may be the super meteor shower of the decade.
The best place to observe meteor showers of all types is the sky. There are no live stargazing shows, but there are plenty of information resources and places where you can stare at the night sky. NASA Starchaser Observatory will put on a Cloudy Nights stargazing event: everybody else should look north-south on equivalent nights.
The Perseid meteor shower sees meteors over land – but water vapor will have an unobstructed path with the moon and block stars from being seen in the exact locations in which it darkens the sky. Clouds cover Earth during this time period, so stargazing does not reliably reflect reflected light. This is why only frequent meteor showers like the Orionids, offer consistent meteor observations.
(RadiantFire.com has coverage on the best recommended home-made thing to look at at midnight, including Orionid and Eta Aquarids.)
Typically, Perseids are observed on the two evenings closest to the spring and fall equinoxes. Viewing time starts with dawn at the April and May solstices, and by the November and January equinoxes, but some even say on weeknight close to the winter solstice. Each year, NASA asks the citizen scientist community for attendance records and now has its own online tool that presents a daily count. About 5 per cent of the Earth typically produces enough meteors to reflect light 5 per cent of the sky during a Perseid meteor shower – so make sure to get home in time!
The best time over the northern part of North America for the Perseids is March 9 when the moon will be full. Even over the tropics, Perseid numbers will be modest compared to the total 5500-plus or so meteors we actually see. You have just a little over an hour to search the skies for an the Perseids or you might miss the best show of the year. You will need magnification equipment so at maximum magnification you can see roughly 50 meteors in a square centimetre across dark sky. Smaller amateur telescopes, binoculars
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