Skacel Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Anyone stay up and watch the meteor shower last night?I sat out in my garden, cracked open a beer, stuck the ipod on and stared at the sky for about an hour, saw some pretty spectacular "shooting stars". Apparently this meteor shower happens every year when the earth passes through debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet.BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Stargazers dazzled by meteor show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Jo-D Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I was in bed by 10..good sleep tho!I hear Mars is the closest ever in August and should be the size of the moon...not sure how accurate that is thoedit : just read that is a hoax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm Your God Now Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I had no idea this was even happening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Not to worry I think there might be one in November. If not there's always next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free tibet Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I was in bed by 10..good sleep tho!I hear Mars is the closest ever in August and should be the size of the moon...not sure how accurate that is thoedit : just read that is a hoaxNot a hoax, Mars will appear to be the size of the full moon, when viewed through binoculars & telescope @ 75 magnifcation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Jo-D Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Mars hoax ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free tibet Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Mars hoax ??Apologies, I was sure I gleened that info from uncle Patrick, but a quick search on the net proves otherwise :O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 *BUMP*Meteor Shower this Thursday/Friday! Watched it last year and it was awesome. Hopefully the sky will be cloud free.As per last year: Grab a beer, stick some relaxing tunes on and enjoy the show. Eye to the Sky in August Morning Express - CNN.com Blogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Knight Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 Hi Skacel,Good that you enjoyed watching the meteors last night. The Perseids meteor shower is annual event and as you say it is due to very small particles of debris that trail behind the Swift Tuttle Comet. this comet comes pretty close to Earth and many scientist predict it is on a collision course to hit us in the year 4479 so need to lose any sleep tonight worrying about a sudden and severe impact.Far better to lose sleep by staying up late and getting yourself to a location where there are no street lights. I am fortunate to live in a village with no street lighting and last nights display was excellent and it will continue for another five nights.The peak for viewing shooting stars should be on Thursday night. Every night until the 13th will be good for seeing this spectacular natural display. The trail is caused by small particles entering our upper atmosphere where they burn up and glow. The longer the trail - the bigger the particle.Start by looking towards the north east at an elevation of about 50 degrees they will appear to emanate from the constellation known as Perseus . Tonight there should be between 50 and 60 meteors visible every hour until dawn. Just before dawn the apparent radiant point will have moved to appear to be almost overhead. We are fortunate this year to have a very dark sky as we do not have a full moon.This link is to a picture that shows two natural phenomena a meteor trail crossing a night sky that is already lit up by a display caused by the aurora borealis but that is another story. http://www.aberdeen-music.com/galleries/showimage.php?i=16532&c=member&imageuser=5210and of course when Jack Hammer wrote the lyrics for "Great Balls of Fire" - he was refering to meteors too.http://www.aberdeen-music.com/galleries/showimage.php?i=16531&catid=member&imageuser=5210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 ace, i'm off on friday! finally get a chance to photograph this, usually have to give it a miss due to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Right so where are you guys planning on watching it?I just watched it in my garden last year, not ideal wrt light pollution but I still saw quite a lot of shooting stars.I'm really hoping its not cloudy on Thursday/Friday although the forecast doesn't look too great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 dunno, i can't drive so my range is limited to walking near culter. will probably just stay in the garden this year and give it a bash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 I'm going to go out tonight and see if I can see anything as it's quite clear.I'm out Culter way too, not as far as Crathes but if you head out along the road to Banchory I'm sure there will be some decent locations with hardly any light pollution.Actually I reckon along the railway line or river would be a decent place to watch it, I don't imagine there would be (m)any shaders down there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Just saw shooting stars. Ulrika seems to be losing a lot of weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Knight Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 lots of meteors last night. About one trail every minute - sometimes a couple together. Hope it a cloudless night tomorrow for Dave's photographic expedition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Damn! Never went out to look last night.I'll have a look tonight, probably just stay in the garden but might drive out to the sticks on Friday night if its clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 lots of meteors last night. About one trail every minute - sometimes a couple together. Hope it a cloudless night tomorrow for Dave's photographic expedition.having just polished off a fairly ridiculous burger i may not be able to move very far! seems to be a good few gaps in the cloud so hoping for some good trails tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootray Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Happy trails!Would quite like to see this, but I'm completely pooped after work today. Plus I live in the centre of town. Full of bloody lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamBrown Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 does anyone know roughly what time i should head into my garden, as i dont want to look strange by standing out there all night looking up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted August 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Just when the sky turns black and you can see the stars I guess. I'm heading out about 11pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Just when the sky turns black and you can see the stars I guess. I'm heading out about 11pm.The sky has turned black and...oh clouds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 yea too much clouds to take photos and couldn't even see a single shooting star when i went for a look just now. ah well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Went outside half an hour ago and it was pretty clear and could see a few stars, but no meteors. Was still a bit light.Went out just now and it's much darker but now it's cloudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 Here's a real meatier shower Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Anderson Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 listening to arcade fire with a beer on my back doorstep watching. only seen one so far - too cloudy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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