2008 Perseid Meteor Shower

MeteorWayne · Jul 15, 2008

Well, the first few early Perseids have started trickling in, IMHO.I recorded two last night, before the IMO's expected start date of activity on July 17th, but there is sufficient video evidence that the actual start is a bit earlier, and there was little doubt about what I saw. They clearly came from the current radiant in western Cassiopia, very near the border with Andromeda. If you see a meteor coming from Perseus in mid July, it is not a Perseid!I'll discuss this in more detail when I finish my August NAMN notes; the peak is expected during the early morning hours of Aug 11-12 in the US, with the best rates from probably Hawaii and other mid Pacific islands.It's a fun time of year for the public and casual meteor observer. For the meteor nut like me, not so much, as other showers produce higher observed rates.MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

baulten · Jul 16, 2008

What do you think it'll be like around the 27th of July?  My girlfriend and I are headed out camping for my birthday; it'd be cool if there were a few meteors out

my_chemical_science · Jul 16, 2008

thats wicked cool! I wish that I could get shots with a cam, which almost always takes good ones of stars and such, but it broke again, and since this is the 3rd time, i get a new cam.. which means better pixs, baby! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <img id="efe57d21-8154-4fbb-93b5-7c5f4a8303be" src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/15/3/efe57d21-8154-4fbb-93b5-7c5f4a8303be.Large.jpg" alt="blog post photo" width="197" height="106" /> If everyone treats you like a kid, you might as well act like one and throw the TV out the hotel window ~Gerard Way </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 16, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>What do you think it'll be like around the 27th of July?  My girlfriend and I are headed out camping for my birthday; it'd be cool if there were a few meteors out

Posted by baulten</DIV> Well, by the end of July, the Perseids are the busiest of the 4 active showers, not quite equal to the sporadic meteor rate. They are pretty distinctive though, due to their very high speed. Last year, the ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) was about 10 on that date, which would lead to a Perseid count of 2 or 3 an hour in the evening, and possibly up to 6 or 7 an hour, depending on where you are, in the early morning hours.The other 3 showers are all slower meteors radiate from near the southern horizon (in the US) to the left of where Jupiter is. Depending on how dark it is where you are camping, you should see at least 5 to 10 meteors an hour, possibly more. That's very close to the peak dates of the 3 southern showers."As meteor rates begin to pick up in the late summer, a number of showers become active in the area surrounding the Antihelion (ANT) radiant. The alpha-Capricornids (CAP) overlap with the Antihelions on the western edge, but stand out due to their slow velocity. South of the ANT, the Southern delta-Aquarids (SDA) and Piscis Austrinids (PAU) also peak toward the end of the month. All of these showers provide low rates for northern hemisphere observers, due to their low elevation at this hazy time of the year." <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 16, 2008

One tool to use is "The Fluxtimator" a Java applet that predicts shower rates for the major showers on any given date. http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.htmlJust pick the nearest city from the list (it's only used to figure approximate Latitude and Longitude so distance to it isn't critical), Pick the shower (7 Perseids), the date (be sure to pick 2008), and what environment...for camping, I'd probably pick "countryside" or "Mountaintop". It uses what is called a double date; for example tonight would be the 16-17 of July....16th in the evening, and 17th after midnight.Don't forget to check the Daylight Savings time box in the summer.two of the other active showers are listed:1 alpha Capricornids, and 5 Southern delta Aquarids. As you can see, rates are quite low in the northern hemisphere for these showers, even near the peak.As the page says, these are rough predictions based on modeling and math; the only way to know for sure is to watch!. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

aphh · Jul 17, 2008

I hope the weather will co-operate this year. Last year it became cloudy during the peak, but I managed to see a few good reddish Perseids.

eosophobiac · Jul 17, 2008

That's a great link, MeteorWayne!  Thanks for sharing.  I'm looking forward to this shower (as I'm sure many do), but it's always been one of my favorites!  <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" />  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>That's a great link, MeteorWayne!  Thanks for sharing.  I'm looking forward to this shower (as I'm sure many do), but it's always been one of my favorites!    Posted by eosophobiac</DIV> It's not really my fave any more, but for the casual observer it's the most accessable medium-high rate shower.Back in the 90's after the passage of the parent comet Swift-Tuttle, it was much more active, with peak ZHRs of nearly 400 an hour, but in this decade it's mostly gone back to the more normal level of ~ 100. There may be some enhancement this year but only 25% or so above the normal rate, and that's theoretical.Unfortunately, the August weather is so often hazy, this reduces what you can see a lot as well.The crisper skies and longer nights for the Geminids in December allow one to see a lot more meteors in one night.MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>It's not really my fave any more, but for the casual observer it's the most accessable medium-high rate shower.Back in the 90's after the passage of the parent comet Swift-Tuttle, it was much more active, with peak ZHRs of nearly 400 an hour, but in this decade it's mostly gone back to the more normal level of ~ 100. There may be some enhancement this year but only 25% or so above the normal rate, and that's theoretical.Unfortunately, the August weather is so often hazy, this reduces what you can see a lot as well.The crisper skies and longer nights for the Geminids in December allow one to see a lot more meteors in one night.MW Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV>Also from here, in the UK, the nights are still short during August, though longer than now obviously. Tonight from here  in southern UK, is the first night since 25th May that Astronomical Twilight actually ends (for a full 35 minutes between end of evening twilight & commencement of morning twilight), though a nearly Full Moon & tonight's crappy weather both offset that. But I will certainly keep an eye out when possible.Andrew Brown.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 17, 2008

What's your Lat/Long again Andrew?I have it, but it's buried in uplink somewhere. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>What's your Lat/Long again Andrew?I have it, but it's buried in uplink somewhere. Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV>Hi Wayne no problem,It's 51 deg 8' North & 0 deg 53' East. Ashford, Kent, UK. Andrew Brown.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi Wayne no problem,It's 51 deg 8' North & 0 deg 53' East. Ashford, Kent, UK. Andrew Brown.  Posted by 3488</DIV>Thanx, well it looks like you've got about 4 moon free hours if you're so inclined the,I get moonset at 00:23, Astro twilight at 03:13 and nautical twilight at 04:12From my experiments 2 mornings ago, the moon, even 91% lit wasn't much of a problem below 5 degrees elevation, and even for scientific data purposes (limiting magnitude better than +5) I can go about 2/3 of the way from astro to nautical twilight. That would be about midnight to 4 AM. If your just looking for the fun of it, you can easily go to nautical twilight, and by 11PM the radiant reaches 30 degrees elevation, where the rate would be half of the ZHR if you had wonderful skies (not likely). From the city you might see 6-10 an hour before dawn, under dark skies like mine about 30 an hour. That's not so bad depending on how your skies are.I'll send you an e-mail so when you have a clear night you can measure the limiting magnitude of your local skies.Then we can figure where you fit on that city-suburb continuum. Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Thanx, well it looks like you've got about 4 moon free hours if you're so inclined the,I get moonset at 00:23, Astro twilight at 03:13 and nautical twilight at 04:12From my experiments 2 mornings ago, the moon, even 91% lit wasn't much of a problem below 5 degrees elevation, and even for scientific data purposes (limiting magnitude better than +5) I can go about 2/3 of the way from astro to nautical twilight. That would be about midnight to 4 AM. If your just looking for the fun of it, you can easily go to nautical twilight, and by 11PM the radiant reaches 30 degrees elevation, where the rate would be half of the ZHR if you had wonderful skies (not likely). From the city you might see 6-10 an hour before dawn, under dark skies like mine about 30 an hour. That's not so bad depending on how your skies are.I'll send you an e-mail so when you have a clear night you can measure the limiting magnitude of your local skies.Then we can figure where you fit on that city-suburb continuum. Wayne Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV>Thank you Wayne, I'd like that. I hope the weather improves.<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/9/4/b98156b5-5d96-45a7-9468-3dc28cbbed7f.Medium.gif" alt="" />I think the moon will not be too bad, from here the Moon will remain pretty low for a few more nights yet & the August Full Moon is never that high from here. Really from September to March gets fairly high, but the other five months, stays pretty low.Andrew Brown.# <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 17, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I think the moon will not be too bad, from here the Moon will remain pretty low for a few more nights yet & the August Full Moon is never that high from here. Really from September to March gets fairly high, but the other five months, stays pretty low.Andrew Brown. Posted by 3488</DIV>Indeed, the transit elevation (20:59) is just under 10 1/2 degrees! That means even when full, it's not too much of an issue, and that night it's only 77% illuminated (mag -11.2) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

TahaSiddiqui · Jul 18, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Well, the first few early Perseids have started trickling in, IMHO.I recorded two last night, before the IMO's expected start date of activity on July 17th, but there is sufficient video evidence that the actual start is a bit earlier, and there was little doubt about what I saw. They clearly came from the current radiant in western Cassiopia, very near the border with Andromeda. If you see a meteor coming from Perseus in mid July, it is not a Perseid!I'll discuss this in more detail when I finish my August NAMN notes; the peak is expected during the early morning hours of Aug 11-12 in the US, with the best rates from probably Hawaii and other mid Pacific islands.It's a fun time of year for the public and casual meteor observer. For the meteor nut like me, not so much, as other showers produce higher observed rates.MW Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV> Hi just to clarify, the peak is Aug 11-12 meaning the night of the 11th to the next day (after 12)? Also I live in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada my longitude is 79 and my latitude is 44 is this a good location for viewing? I love meteor showers, the only one I have seen is the Leonids last year, every other time its been very cloudy

. Thanks MW

MeteorWayne · Jul 18, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi just to clarify, the peak is Aug 11-12 meaning the night of the 11th to the next day (after 12)? Also I live in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada my longitude is 79 and my latitude is 44 is this a good location for viewing? I love meteor showers, the only one I have seen is the Leonids last year, every other time its been very cloudy

. Thanks MW Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV> Sure, that's about the same where I am (44N, 75W); perhaps even a tiny bit better but not much Should be good from midnight till 5 AM or so. Depending on how dark your sky is you should see 30-50 an hour in the last hour before dawn. The Perseids are best after midnight once the radiant (where the meteors appear to eminate from) gets higher in the sky. It's worth taking a nap earlier in the evening so you can stay up until dawn. That's what I try and do, but since we invite the public up to the NJAA, I usually wind up awake all night, so I nap during the afternoon and evening.And yes, it's the evening of the 11th and morning of the 12th for the peak, though if it looks like it will be cloudy the nights before and after aren't too bad. That's what happened to us here last year, the peak night was clouded out, but the night before and after were super clear.I saw 26 and 24 Perseids per hour during my best hours those nights. That is a zenithal hourly rate of 53 and 61 per hour. It was a shame we missed the peak night, but you have to work with mother nature...can't fight her!Total meteors for the best hour were 31 and 28, including sporadics, kappa Cygnids, and the southern showers mentioned earlier. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 23, 2008

The IMO's Perseid "on-the-fly" graph is up and running.http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2008/Please note this data is not QC'd, it's raw data. Not suitable for scientific analysis yet, but good enough to get a feel for activity. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

aphh · Jul 23, 2008

I'm off to watch the skies. The northern sky is still glowing white, but for the first time this summer I can see some stars clearly.

aphh · Jul 24, 2008

I saw a few very rapid white/yellow meteors in the Summer Triangle going from North to South, probably not related to Perseids.My grand plan of spending a few hours observing went bust, because the bird watchtower, that is the highest and best point for observing here, had a young couple with naked butts doing the vertical mambo just when I reached the top platform. Speaking of summer triangle, there is a magnificent tight formation of two stars of equal brightness and color about a degree or two from Vega towards Deneb. Are these two stars related, meaning are they in the same neighborhood?They apparently show in this image as the two stars on the left: <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/13/7/1dc11ac8-e7ca-46be-b7a3-fbc9f33442be.Medium.gif" alt="" />

MeteorWayne · Jul 24, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I saw a few very rapid white/yellow meteors in the Summer Triangle going from North to South, probably not related to Perseids.My grand plan of spending a few hours observing went bust, because the bird watchtower, that is the highest and best point for observing here, had a young couple with naked butts doing the vertical mambo just when I reached the top platform. Speaking of summer triangle, there is a magnificent tight formation of two stars of equal brightness and color about a degree or two from Vega towards Deneb. Are these two stars related, meaning are they in the same neighborhood?They apparently show in this image as the two stars on the left:    Posted by aphh</DIV> Do you mean the two stars immediately to the left of Vega, or the two on the far left? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Jul 24, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Do you mean the two stars immediately to the left of Vega, or the two on the far left? Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV>Epsilon Lyrae, the Double, Double?????Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 24, 2008

Just a note, from July 1 through July 15 (before the full moon) the NAMN has received reports of 182 meteors in 22.23 hours of observing time from 4 observers.133 Sporadic Meteors17 Antihelion meteors11 Perseids8 alpha Capricornids4 Southern delta Aquarids4 July Andromedids5 other showers with 1 each. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Jul 24, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Epsilon Lyrae, the Double, Double?????Andrew Brown. Posted by 3488</DIV> Possibly that what was being refered to, but they are pretty dim, the two unaided visible stars are very close in magnitude at +4.6 and +4.7 On that diagram they would show as the one star to the left and above Vega.That system is indeed 4 (actually 5 since component C, part of the lower one is also suspected to be a binary itself) stars in one system. It consists of 2 pairs of stars (each pair appears as one by eye) about 2 light years apart, yet each pair orbits the barycenter of the whole system. aphh, these two visible stars are very close together, barely at the limit of what you can separate by eye. If that's what you are talking about, then that ID is correct.The one below and to the left is also a double, zeta Lyrae, the two components are mag +4.3 and +5.7.The two at the far left in the diagram are eta (top) and theta (bottom), both mag +4.3Hope this helps.MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

aphh · Jul 24, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>The two at the far left in the diagram are eta (top) and theta (bottom), both mag +4.3Hope this helps.MW Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV>It indeed helped, thanks! It's the two dim stars on the very left. Using binoculars they appear as striking pair of identical twins separated by only a few arc minutes. I now know to check out Lyra better hopefully tonight.

MeteorWayne · Jul 24, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>It indeed helped, thanks! It's the two dim stars on the very left. Using binoculars they appear as striking pair of identical twins separated by only a few arc minutes. I now know to check out Lyra better hopefully tonight.  Posted by aphh</DIV> Yes they are very close in magnitude. eta is +4.43, theta is +4.35.Their true brightess is much different since they are very far away, and not at all close to each othereta is 1399 times the brightness of the sun, and 1042 light years awaytheta is 820 times brighter than the sun, and is 769 light years way.All those measurements have some pretty large error bars, but it gives you a rough idea.Both are actually triple star systems. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

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