Perseid Meteor Shower 2008

This year's Perseid meteor shower is already underway, although rates are still quite low, over the next two weeks they will gradually increase, peaking in the early morning on the 12th August (between about 05:00 and 07:00 UT/GMT) when as many as up to 100 meteors per hour could be visible according to predictions.

Perseid meteors are only seen when Earth passes through the dust left behind comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle as it orbits around the sun. Earth encounters these trails every August and as it does so the tiny dust-sized particles which left the comet many decades, and even many centuries ago in some cases, slam into the atmosphere at a mind boggling 59km/sec creating the dazzling streaks in the sky that we know as Perseid meteors.

Since Perseids appear to radiate away from Perseus, they are named after the constellation by convention. Be aware that other showers are also active during this time (and indeed throughout the year), so be careful not to count meteors that do not point back to Perseus if you extend their trails back in your head. Look out for occasional unmistakably slow Alpha Capricornids, and the Kappa Cygnids which are also much slower than any Perseid meteor you will see.

Getting back to the Perseids though, this years show should be good due to the moon being out of the way for most of the night, so make the most of this year's good fortune. If you can, and/or the weather forecast is looking bad for the main night, try to watch for them in the nights leading up to the 12th, as well as the following night after the peak, which can also be very good! Remember, the best rates are usually just before it starts to get light, so plan to observe for some time if you can, or else set the alarm to wake you!

If you have a video camera or still camera, try to capture some. Fast wide-normal lenses and high ISOs work best. Focus on infinity (the Moon for example) and aim ~45 degrees away from Perseus. See the links below for further details, and feel free to U2U me if you have any questions.

Enjoy the show, and clear skies!

Related Links :

Article from NASA:
science.nasa.gov...

2008 Perseid Predictions:
feraj.narod.ru...
(scroll down to the table/paragraph above the table)

Perseid shower info, history, and observations:
meteorshowersonline.com...

Basic visual meteor shower observation techniques:
rtpnet.org...
tinyurl.com...

Advanced visual meteor shower observation techniques:
www.imo.net...

Photographing meteors:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

General information:
www.space.com...

Organizations and mailing lists:
www.imo.net...
www.amsmeteors.org...
tech.groups.yahoo.com...


[edit on 28-7-2008 by C.H.U.D.]

reply to post by C.H.U.D.

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I hope the pretty stars attract them UFOs. I remember seeing a rainfall of these, I got on top of the roof with my cousin. It was a beautiful site, look forward to some pictures.

Thanks for the post, C.H.U.D.

Although it's not the biggest shower of the year, it's the one I look forward to the most, because I can typically sit out in the backyard without freezing my arse off

I'll be watchin'

they are really fun to watch
where I live the sky is black at night and I get a very good showing each year
if it isn't cloudy

Thanks for the heads-up C.H.U.D. (literally!)

I am looking forward to the show.

Hopefully the weather will clear up, it's been uncharacteristically cloudy here lately.

reply to post by Pocky

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I'm sure we'll get a rash of UFO sightings over the next few weeks


reply to post by Zarniwoop

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You're welcome Zarniwoop.

I think this year, the Perseids could well be the biggest shower of the year. This year's Leonids are also supposed to be above average, but the moon will be a problem, and the Geminids, which are generally considered to be the most reliable shower of the year will also occur during moonlight.

So this year's Perseids is the only major shower that will not be a washout due to moonlight. Next year should be good with the Leonids and Geminids being moon free, but the Perseids will be a washout.

reply to post by solo1

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Yeah, they usually put on a good solid display, and it's nice to be able to watch them in relatively balmy temperatures compared to the other major showers of the year. I also try to observe them every year without fail

reply to post by xmotex

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You're welcome xmotex,

As long as it's cloudy before, that's not a bad thing. I always hope for a bit of rain during the day before I go out to observe, as it clears all the crud out of the air. Just gotta pray it clears up in time


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Thanks to all for the replies. It's great to see that we have quite a few veteran observers on here.

I'll be heading off to less light polluted skies in a couple of days, and won't be back till after the peak. I probably won't have time to post much on here since I have lots of packing to do, so I hope everybody gets clear skies and a good show!

For those who are interested in following the build up in Perseid meteor rates, there is a real-time "live" graph which can be found here:

www.imo.net...

You can also see the graphs from previous meteor showers, and it's interesting to compare profiles between different showers. Note how slow the Perseids build up over the course of a few weeks in comparison to showers like the Leonids and Lyrids, which both have relatively quick buildups and sharp peaks.

Every year is a little different, but you can get a fairly good idea what to expect this year by looking at last years Perseids. Here's the graph:



Here's this years graph (so far):


Under ideal conditions you can expect to see perhaps 10 Perseids per hour at the moment.

Last week I saw some Alpha Capricornids. I caught a really good clear, dark (pre-moon) night and saw four in the space of 10 minutes as well as a sporadic. I was struck by the fact that they were bright yellow, slow and tail-less.

Happy Observing!

I've already seen the start of this, can't wait to go out on the 12th.

Happy star gazing.

Bump for the weekend.
I spotted quite a few last night. all Perseids.
So the display is ramping up nicely.

I was outside for about an hour. Awake for at least 30 minutes of that hour.
The weather was so nice, slight breeze..and a "wall of sound" of crickets chirping, I was lulled right to sleep..Funny thing is I opened my eyes just as a nice bright one was cruising by. Good timing.

While I haven't seen much in the way of quantity, the quality has been amazing.

Sunday night, Aug 3rd I saw a very bright, green meteor while looking west over the entrance of the Cape Cod canal. I would guess that it was lit up for over 5 seconds or so and seemed to "flare out" at the end.

I also witnessed another green meteor Saturday Aug 9th looking North from Seekonk, MA.

Too bad for Sweden where it's completely bright during that time:S I would have wanted to see it;(

A bit late, but what the hey...

Good to hear most of you got to see a few -

ZikhaN - better luck next time. Try and see them on the nights before, so you don' t get caught out if the peak is clouded out. The weather here is also very frustrating sometimes!

Insomniac - "yellow, slow and tail-less" Alpha Capricornids I guess you mean... yeah - they are something to watch ain't they! I only saw a couple of dimmer ones this year, but the brighter ones I've seen in previous years
have been spectacular on occasion. IIRC a couple of years back I saw a few that were distinctly golden in color.

spacedoubt - Hope you caught a good peak. Just in case you missed it, the Leonids are looking promising despite the moon. I've already been caught out by one shower this year (the Orionids), and I'm determined not to let another slip by!

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I had perhaps the worst weather in living memory throughout the shower - completely clouded out for the peak

Despite this, I did spend a couple of partially cloudy nights out observing them, and saw a few quite nice ones.

In fact, one Perseid (by far the most impressive this year)I saw by pure chance made all the effort I put into the trip worth it!

It was the evening after peak, the sun had barely set, the sky was still light and I was outside the B&B where I was staying, trying to get a photo of the clouds that were still standing out against the fast fading sunset. It was an orange earth grazer that flew parallel to the horizon and only perhaps 15 degrees above it. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but it threw off sparks and was approaching the brightness of perhaps a 1/4 moon!

Can't wait for the Leonids