Meteor shower tonight!

by BrentR 35 Replies latest social entertainment

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  BrentR

  I saw several nice bright ones last wed and thurs night while watching the space station and shuttle go over. It's still overcast here so you guys will have tell how cool it was.\

  When I was 14 (1976) a couple of my friends and I were sleeping outside and we saw an incredible show. I will never forget the shear number and some of the very bright long ones that shot over. We could hear others around the neighborhood hoot and cheer when a big one hit. Maybe I will catch the tail end of it tomarrow night.
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  hubert

  I saw several nice bright ones last wed and thurs night while watching the space station and shuttle go over.

  BrentR, I would especially love to see the shuttle and space station go by. Is there a chart somewhere on the net that has a schedule of where it flies over and what time? I live in the Northeast U.S.

  Can you see anyone waving?

  Hubert
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  purplesofa

  I love watching Meteor showers.

  The first one I ever watched I talked to several others that got up at 2am and braved the cold, on the phone from other parts of the US.

  It was so cool to watch the same thing with others from so far away.

  I have gotten groups together to watch, its a very bonding experiance

  purps
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  Madame Quixote

  Wow! Maybe I'll head to the beach tonight with the brats to see it; if the moon's not out and it's not overcast, (like last year), maybe we'll actually get to see it! Thanks, Brent!
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  BrentR

  Hubert, here is the website that will tell you when it's pasing over you.

  http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States

  Just select your state and then on the next page the closest city on the list. It will tell you where to look on the horizon. Depending on where the sun is in relation to the ISS or shuttle it may be very bright. Right now with the shuttle connected to it, it is bigger and reflects better.

  Here is a map to find out if it going to be going over your area. If it is not tracking over you wait 24 hrs and the path will shift. Even if it not right above you you can still see it. I can still see it when it is over eastern Montana.

  http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/

  Good luck and hope you get to see it! With a regular pair of binoculars you can sort of make out the shape.
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  Madame Quixote

  BrentR - Thank you, thank you, thank you! for telling us about the Perseid Meteor Shower! I took my daughter and one of her best old buddies to watch it last night. We had a grand old time at Carolina Beach, hooting and hollering like 4th-of-July-redneck-fools! It was lovely. To add to the drama, there was pinkish heat lightning, off the ocean in the distance while we star-gazed. We saw a few extraordinarily colorful shots, along with a few that looked like snowflakes, and barely caught 'em in the "corner" of our vision. It was a lot of fun. Thanks again, Brent!
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  Leolaia

  Hubert....Here is an even more complete site: http://www.heavens-above.com/countries.asp

  Not only the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, it also has most bright satellites and other objects. It ranks the satellites by magnitude so I tried it out by picking the brightest satellite and it gave me a sky map and the time it would be passing by, and I went outside and lo and behold I saw it crossing overhead at that time.
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  Merry Magdalene

  Just wanted to say thanks, Brent !

  Had a great time by the river, laying on the sand, watching the meteor show...with my daughter running about laughing madly...the dog barking at intruders...the neighbor's dog chasing my daughter and kicking sand in my face... and my ex-husband there too, claiming that the other lights passing overhead were alien spacecraft.

  A good (albeit somewhat strange) time was had by all.

  ~Merry
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  BrentR

  I am glad some of you got to see them! I only got to see a couple since the clouds kept rolling through. Tonight it is crystal clear and I will have to see if some of the tail enders will be zipping by. It blows me away that they are the size of a grain of sand and most are dust size.

  Next month a very rare shower will happen.

  "Around the start of our year count, 2000 years ago, comet Kiess passed the sun and ejected a cloud of dust. Kiess completed one orbit in 1911 when it was discovered by Lick Observatory post-doc Carl Kiess. The dust took longer to return, and formed a continuous stream of dust particles that has been passing just outside Earth orbit ever since.

  On Sept. 1, 2007, that trail of dust from Roman times will wander in the Earth's path again, causing an extremely rare meteor shower during the short time it takes the Earth to travel through the stream of dust. The meteors radiate from the constellation of Auriga, and are called Aurigids. Only three people alive today are known to have seen this shower before in 1935, 1986, and 1994. After the 2007 encounter, the Aurigids will not be seen again in our lifetimes."

  -Space.com
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  horrible life

  Thanks Brent! Had fun, but didn't see many, before having to go to bed.

  Leolaia, awesome web site. I have been looking for a book kinda like this for my daughter. This is even better! Up to the minute, star charts, and more. Thank you.

  Last week ,during vacation, my daughter wanted to go to Black Mesa in Oklahoma. Nearest town is Kenton, for her birthday present. It is the highest point in Oklahoma, and a favorite place for star gazers. It is on the Western tip, of the Oklahoma panhandle. It was our last night on our trip. It included driving down a 29 mile dirt road in a heavy thunderstorm, to get there. Ummmmmm thunderstorms and star watching, don't go together.

  She was so disappointed. Maybe next year.