Meteor shower visible late Thursday night

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Ted Forte, Huachuca Astronomy Club

[SandRat]

Meteor showers are associated with streams of debris left behind by comets. The Perseids are dust bits from Comet Swift-Tuttle and are famous for creating bright fireballs and elevated meteor activity for nearly two weeks in mid-August. This year it is predicted the shower will peak on the overnight of Thursday, Aug. 11, to Friday, Aug. 12. It is predicted to be twice the usual intensity. That’s because Earth will pass through the center of the debris stream rather than the grazing encounter we experience in most years.

The display should be well worth the loss of a few hours’ sleep.

[pgkdan]

Anyone know a good time to see them on the East Coast? I noticed a really cool alignment in the sky the last couple of nights. Mars, Saturn and a star made a perfect equilateral triangle.

[granite]

[Gadsden1st]

Bucket List

I will go to somewhere in U.S. where I can have a great view of the night sky.

Here in Florida, even on a “clear” night, you can barely make out the milky way.

[painter]

What time?

[goodnesswins]

This is great...thanks for posting...we are in SE Idaho right now....gonna be watching

[Mr. Douglas]

What time?

---

Dark. It’s happening all day but you can only see it when it’s dark.

[Zathras]

I saw an early one two days ago.
Very bright

[scottinoc]

Tonopah, NV, the star-gazing capital of the world. Drove up there from Vegas back in February, even though it was a bit cloudy, still amazing view of all 5 visible planets, plus numerous shooting stars and at least one man-made object (ISS?) traversing the sky.

[Gadsden1st]

Thank You. Nothing as valuable as local knowledge.

[Rio]

From NASA:

How to Watch the Perseids

The best way to see the Perseids is to go outside between midnight and dawn on the morning of Aug. 12. Allow about 45 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. Lie on your back and look straight up. Increased activity may also be seen on Aug. 12-13.

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/perseid-meteor-shower-aug11-12.html

[SandRat]

That I don’t know.

[Beowulf9]

Phoenix hardly ever gets rain...

except when there is a meteor shower.

Nevertheless, I hope for a break in the clouds tonight. I love these things :)

[SandRat]

My son lives in chandler. He’s an Aerospce Engineer, he works for Obital Science. I suspct that even if it rains, he;ll figure out a way.

[Larry Lucido]

I’ll be taking a shower.

[EinNYC]

If you’re on the East coast, better slather yourself with Off! before going out to watch the meteorites. These skeeters this year are like mini SAM missiles, they find you and bite like crazy.

[eastsider]

I agree with Rio that the best time to see them is after midnight because that's when you'll be on the part of the earth that is turning in toward the meteor shower.

The only thing I would add is that if you are in a time zone that observes daylight savings, you'll want to go out after 1:00 a.m., not midnight, for optimum viewing.

Keep looking up!

[muleskinner]

http://www.amsmeteors.org

This is the best site for meteor showers. It tracks ALL meteor showers, major and minor - and I mean minor, throughout the year.

Best times, how many per hour, radiant(if you can read a map)

[minnesota_bound]

You should be safe..... maybe.
http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Meteor-Shower-768x1280-1.jpg

Bring an umbrella and a friend.
http://img09.deviantart.net/82a7/i/2016/087/c/9/love_under_the_meteor_shower_by_generazart-d9wbefg.png

[Beowulf9]

Congrats to being the parent of an intelligent, hardworking son!Wow!