Meteor Showers

[ChrisKH]

I was watering my dog about 12.10 this morning, tracking the southern sky as it was clear and the moon was off to the South West when I saw two meteors in quick succession going East to South West.

I haven't seen any meteors since I was in the Southern Hemisphere ten years ago and before that twenty years previous at a camp in Mersea Island when the sky was alight with them. Thing is, I can't find any record that some are due, so what's the deal? Are they regular but I so rarely look skywards I miss them or have I been lucky?:?:

 

[slowmotion]

I am sure that there is a pattern, but I do not know what it is. I tend to see loads of them in mid-August but that is probably because I tend to be on holiday at that time, in areas without light pollution, and looking out.


Good spotting.

 

[the snail]

I think in August the Perseids appear, but if you look for long enough you'll usually see one any time of year?

 

[Norm]

Although it's not too unusual to get two bits of space dust close together, if they have come from the same comet, for instance, it could also have been space junk rather than real meteors.

 

[surfdude]

wishing on space junk doesnt have a very romantic feel about it.

would it count ?

 

[661-Pete]

Here's the good news. You have a good chance of seeing a meteor or two, any night of the year, if the sky's clear. Best if it's moonless and you have a good dark place to watch from.

The famous meteor showers - e.g. Perseids - are simply times of the year when meteors become more frequent, because the Earth happens to be passing through a part of the Solar System particularly rich in interplanetary dust. But it does not mean you won't see any at other times of the year.

I see several on those nights when I'm taking images of the night sky. Most of the time while the 'scope does its stuff, I'm sitting back in a garden chair, seat tipped right back, and semi-somnolent. If I manage to stay awake, I usually spot a few. I note the best ones down in my diary.

So, that's the best way. Choose a mild but clear night without moon or nearby streetlights. Sit back in a sunlounger or similar, so you can be looking up for long periods without strain. Don't use any visual aids - telescope or the like - just take in as much of the sky as you can with your unaided eye. Don't fix your eyes on any one spot: let them wander around. Relax.

Good luck.

 

[PatrickPending]

I see meteors occasionally on my commute this time of year, not seen one for while though.

Meteor shower dates here

http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors