Perseids 2010

[Tyler]

Yes, its that time of year again! meteor observing season. Figured I'd start a thread since I saw a few of them last night. Haven't heard much about this years shower, but the moon should be of no interference after 10pm! I'll plan to be out every clear night until the peak for a couple hours at least. Mike H was telling me that he saw dozens last night, so sounds like activity is really starting to get going! anyone have any more info on the event?

[martinastro]

Thanks for starting a thread on this year's showers Tyler, it looks to be a good one this year with a Moon which won't mess with things. ZHR is approx 100/hr, all we need is the clear skies now. Like yourself and Mike, I plan on doing alot of patrols with the camera on the nights leading up to the peak in the hope of getting a fireball. Must get some more info on this posted here soon. Cheers 

[martinastro]

Sky & Telescope have a nice article on their site about this years Perseids...

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/99304684.html

[Big Dipper]

Thanks Tyler for starting this thread & to you, Martin, for the link.

I would love to get a stack like the picture by Gain Lee on the S&T link. So far success has eluded me. 

Incidentally Gain Lee's astro images were one of the foremost inspirations for me getting an AstroTrac. Checkout his images on his personal website (he also has a page devoted to storm chasing, Martin  ) here.

[martinastro]

Andy, thanks very much for the link, I can see why you have been inspired by Gain Lee's photography, his images of storms, Milky Way, Comets, Birds etc are amazing. He has a lovely b&w portrait image of Sir. Patrick Moore. His capture of the Airbus plane is stunning!

[markt]

Thanks for the link Martin!

Looking forward to this years Perseids, definitely gonna try some photography of it - see if I can snap some beauties! 

Lets hope for a good show all round

[Tyler]

while out Aurora watching last night I observed 16 meteors, of which 9 were Perseids. My attention was skyward for probably 2 hours total so I probably missed a few, but still I think thats some decent activity for being a week away from the peak.

[Roman White]

Hi guys, the activity seems to be good. I will be watching every time next week when I get some free time. The weather is near excellent here. 

[martinastro]

We've a dark-sky Perseid maximum in prospect soon, thanks to new Moon on August 10. The shower's peak is due between 18:30 UT on August 12 to 07:00 UT on August 13, most likely at some stage from about 23:30 to 02:00 UT. It should produce Zenithal Hourly Rates (ZHRs) of around 100. Observed rates, as usual, will be below this calculated value, but could still reach a meteor a minute or more on the maximum night, if your skies are as clear and dark as possible.

The most plausible peak interval is very favourable for Britain, as the Perseid radiant, a few degrees northeast of the "Double Cluster" near the maximum, can be usefully-observed from roughly 22h UT onwards, culminating after dawn. Perseids are swift, often bright, and commonly trained meteors, and those hoping to image some may find their capture rates enhanced by aiming towards And-Cas-Peg-Cyg.

The shower is already active (it began around July 17) and lasts through till about August 24. Although rates are always lower away from the peak, observed activity is usually good to very good for a couple of days before the maximum plus a day or so afterwards. This is important to remember if it seems the actual peak night may be clouded-out. Further information on the Perseids and other showers active simultaneously, including a Perseid radiant chart, is on August's SPA meteor activity web page, at...

http://www.popastro.com/sections/meteor/meteor-aug2010.htm

Good luck, and clear skies!, Alastair McBeath, Meteor Director, Society for Popular Astronomy

[martinastro]

Perseid article from NASA...

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/05aug_perseids/

[martinastro]

Did a watch tonight from 00.00-03.00 BST, saw 29 Perseids which was great considering the distance from the peak. Brightest was mag +0, caught a faint short one on camera. Sky was incredible, very trans and dark with low fog, the high moisture content at low levels meant my lens kept misting over so I had to wipe it almost every min.

[paulster78]

Amazing sky, cant believe it has cleared so well.  Saw 5 Perseids tonight from the back garden from 0200-0320 BST. 

[martinastro]

This is my first Perseid catch of the year from last night, nice multiple colours on it, note the pillars and spikes around Jupiter due to the moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Full image and cropped version...

[martinastro]

A few patrol images, first the MW in Aquila then a bright sat in Ursa Major...

[paulster78]

Congratulations on the Perseid catch Martin nice green tint on it, i had the camera set up too but caught none.

Lovely portrait style image of the Milky way, great to see the return of darker skies.