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View Full Version : Meteor shower event this weekend



johnnybgood
08-10-2012, 16:59
This weekend the Perseids Meteor Showers can be seen late Saturday night into the early morning hours of Sunday.
An early morning crescent moon won't be visible until a few hours before sunrise so the night sky will remain dark for these meteors.
Find a viewing area away from light pollution and bring lawn chairs, hammock or whatever makes you comfortable.

More information at : http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors

Buffalo Skipper
08-10-2012, 17:12
I will be hiking with friends in the Talladega National Forest near Cheaha this weekend. We will be camping on top of the ridge at about 2000' with great views to the NE and no towns in site. To top it all off, the forecast is for clear weather. Can't wait to see what we will be able to see in the middle of nowhere!

Should be memorable for the peak on Saturday and Sunday nights.

WingedMonkey
08-10-2012, 19:57
"The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up right in the middle of the [Perseid] display," NASA says. Specifically, "Jupiter, Venus and the crescent moon are gathering together just as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-perseid-meteor-shower-primer-20120810,0,5668106.story

Wise Old Owl
08-10-2012, 20:26
Ah WM beat me to it......video is very good explanation

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-perseid-meteor-shower-primer-20120810,0,5668106.story

russb
08-10-2012, 20:42
Can hardly wait until tomorrow night when I will be up in the Adirondacks at a remote lake!

Miner
08-10-2012, 22:50
One of my best memories of the PCT was cowboy camping and looking up at the meteors streaking overhead.

Marta
08-11-2012, 01:55
After years of meteor showers obscured by heavy cloud cover in the southeast, I'm spoiled for choice for places to go now!

Lauriep
08-11-2012, 01:59
We're having a Night Sky Astronomy session as part of our A.T. 75th Anniversary Celebration here in Harpers Ferry at 8:30 pm on the Mather Lawn (just above ATC). It's not free of lights, but it's a nice spot, and Jeff "Seven Sisters" Haas will share some lore about the night-time skies.

It will be preceded by a 45-minute session of A.T. stories, poems, and readings.

Bring tarps or pads.

Laurie P.

WingedMonkey
08-11-2012, 08:50
Bring tarps or pads.

Are they allowed in Harpers Ferry?

;)

mudhead
08-11-2012, 09:10
After years of meteor showers obscured by heavy cloud cover in the southeast, I'm spoiled for choice for places to go now!


Not to mention light pollution. I have your cloud cover here, but I need rain...

Best I ever saw here went W to E. No tunnel vision.:)

bigcranky
08-11-2012, 09:13
After years of meteor showers obscured by heavy cloud cover in the southeast, I'm spoiled for choice for places to go now!

Yeah, +1. We've been wanting to get out for the Perseids for several years with no luck due to weather. Heading out this afternoon to the Mt Rogers area to find a nice open spot with views to the NE. The combo of clear weather, no moon, and cool temps should be great.

Red Hat
08-11-2012, 22:51
Laid out for about an hour last night (Fri) and saw quite a few before the TX mosquitoes sent me inside. Plan to try again tonight. My Warbonnet Hammock would have been good but the trees would block the stars, so I used a comforter away from the trees.

Wise Old Owl
08-11-2012, 23:13
Totally obscured - got to see the Fireworks though for free at Longwood Gardens. WINNING!

johnnybgood
08-12-2012, 19:25
Totally obscured - got to see the Fireworks though for free at Longwood Gardens. WINNING!

Sorry WOO ! The meadow at Big Meadows was an great venue to take in the fireworks....I mean meteors.:)

Wise Old Owl
08-12-2012, 19:35
Yea beat me with a stick - sucks ..... I have a memory of the best fireworks show on the planet when I was a young lad watching the meteors... without a tent, stayed all night with a sweater under the head and a plastic trash bag for a sleep bag.... will not compare to anything for many years.

Jim Adams
08-13-2012, 11:43
...only saw 3 from my sleeping bag but the first one was incredible. big, bright and going completely across the sky.

geek

Feral Bill
08-15-2012, 23:03
Excellent in North Idaho. Very competent mosquitoes, too.

brian039
08-15-2012, 23:47
I had the pleasure of viewing the meteor shower while paddling a raft at night on the Colorado River outside of Grand Junction. It was a great show. Thank you, universe!

Marta
08-16-2012, 00:46
My plans all came to not much, meteor-shower-wise. But I did see my first Montana moose during Saturday's hike. And got a great night's sleep in my tent...after a quick check of the sky showed that clouds had moved in during the wee hours of the night. I saw one tiny shooting star earlier, before the clouds moved in.

And a black bear came grazing the berries growing along rhe edge of the parking lot at work today. So I've been scoring animal sightings to make up for the poverty of meteor sightings.

bigcranky
08-16-2012, 10:18
Had a nice night out on Stone Mountain (the one in Mt Rogers near Scales.) Not too many clouds, good views of some meteors, but we didn't stay up until the wee hours when the forecast was for 2-3 per minutes. Did shoot a couple of cool photos, though.

17064

This one has a couple of very faint meteors, difficult to see at this size, plus an airplane at the lower left.