Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => Alerts! Questions? Discussions... => Topic started by: MarkS on Aug 12, 2013, 08:06:06

Title: Perseids
Post by: MarkS on Aug 12, 2013, 08:06:06
I spent an hour outside last night (10:30-11:30pm) on a sunbed watching Perseids in a beautifully clear sky.  There were quite a few very long bright trails towards the West - one in particular was very bright.   It was a great show but none appeared on the camera (which was pointed almost directly upwards).

Hoping for another clear night tonight :-)


Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: Rick on Aug 12, 2013, 08:32:26
Woke up around 3am, and checked outside on the off-chance, but the sky was cloudy by then.
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: Mike on Aug 12, 2013, 14:55:14
Same here Mark. Spent about 3 hours looking up. Saw plenty, including 2 fireballs that left trails. Yet, on the fisheye lens i'd set up I only caught 3 faint ones.

There is a clear patch forecast for tomorrow morning after midnight so i'm hoping I can catch some then.

Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: Rick on Aug 12, 2013, 15:00:19
Really should have hooked up the radio and done some listening; 143.0485 MHz USB and a 2 metres antenna should be good for hearing echos of the Graves radar off meteor trails...
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: MarkS on Aug 12, 2013, 17:16:51

Weather forecast is looking really good for tomorrow morning which is when the number of meteors goes up (since the observer is then pointed towards the dust cloud left behind by the comet).  I predict I won't get much sleep tonight ;-)

Shame I don't have a radio that covers 143.0485 MHz  :-(

I'm thinking only the extraordinarily bright ones show up on camera.
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: MarkS on Aug 13, 2013, 07:51:48
I set the alarm and got up at 2:30am this morning (Tuesday).  Good display - I counted 35 in one hour.  Very happy!
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: Carole on Aug 15, 2013, 17:50:40
Seen quite a few meteors and saw a bright fireball last night, going north to south along the milky way, left a trail behind.  Not sure if this is part of the Perseids or a sporadic one.  I'm in France BTW.

Carole
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: MarkS on Aug 15, 2013, 19:14:56
Quote from: Carole
Seen quite a few meteors and saw a bright fireball last night, going north to south along the milky way, left a trail behind.  Not sure if this is part of the Perseids or a sporadic one.  I'm in France BTW.

Yes, that's certainly the right trajectory for a Perseid.  Enjoy your time in France!

There are some pictures on the Daily Mail's site. One of them, over St Ioan medieval church, even changes trajectory ;-)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2390275/Perseid-Meteor-Shower-images-captured-astronomers.html

Admittedly it's not always easy to tell if the trail on an image is a meteor, satellite, ISS or an aircraft  but a mid-course correction should be a dead giveaway!
Title: Re: Perseids
Post by: Rocket Pooch on Aug 15, 2013, 22:08:09
I've been in France although not as far south as Carole, and the display was fantastic, I had forgot about it, but I needed a pee and on a walk to the loo I noticed them coming down like well what shooting stars should look like.  After an hour I thought being English and wearing a dressing gown in France, in the middle of the night looks odd, so I went to bed.

However, in my little mind I though everyone would see it as an homage to Arthur Dent.  My towel was next to me on the tent.