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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

The Perseid meteor shower look like lasers night

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Dec 14, 2010
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Hi all,

this Friday, August 5, it is the night of the shooting stars/The Perseid meteor shower.
I do not miss this show for nothing.
This is a superb opportunity to use our precious.: D


Do you expect this appointment as me?: La bière:

Have fun with security.
 





DrSid

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Cool idea .. I take all my colors on some hill and create some UFO sighting.
 

yzer

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I'm a big fan of the Perseid meteor shower and have watched it for years.

Unfortunately, the peak of the Perseid will be on August 14-15: close to a full moon. Don't expect this to be a decent year for this meteor shower.

OTOH, this weekend isn't bad for meteor watching. Two minor showers: Delta Aquarids and Alpha capricornids will be just past their peak this weekend and you might see some of the first Perseid meteors coming in.

I was out last night for less than 20 minutes around midnight, not long enough for night vision to fully kick in but long enough to get the 15x70 astronomical binos on a sliver of moon. Didn't have enough time to spot any meteors.
 
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According to this, the peak this year is Aug 13th; but meteor shower *predictions* are not always accurate:
Perseids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some years a superior shower is predicted, but the count turns out very low. Other years, "they" predict a low count, but a high count actually occurs.

(Watch out for the Triffids!)
 
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yzer

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Yep, I checked and early in the morning of the 13th seems to be the peak for Perseid this year. Who knows? Some of larger meteors may be visible through the moonlight.
 
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Definitely worth getting up early for! Sky watching is something i have always enjoyed, ever since I was a wee lad of about 8 years old! I also understand that comets Honda and Elenin will be close enough to be seen soon. But I don't believe they will be visible in the northern hemisphere though...:undecided:
 
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I will be looking from atop Prairie Mt. in Or. we'll see if they are visible in the northern hemisphere ;)
 
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:O I remember last year's perseids. Was really neat! That was before I got into lasers though... I wonder how many people will be out this year, and whether or not they will be interested in seeing lasers at the same time :eg:

EDIT: 1000th post! Woot!
 
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already seen about 4 fireballs (I believe if it's brighter than the brightest object in the sky, generally a planet, then it's a fireball), and numerous other meteors.
 

yzer

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I have seen a few meteors during the last week. I'll be going out tonight after 10:30 or so to have a look around, full moon or not. The larger meteors will still be visible.

NASA is hosting a live webcam pointed into the sky from Alabama and a "Up All Night" to Watch the Perseids! live chat here:

NASA - NASA Chat: Stay 'Up All Night' to Watch the Perseids!

Binos aren't any good for watching the Perseids but I got a fine look at Jupiter and three of its moons last night with Oberwerk 15x70 binos. You can't miss Jupiter, it's the brightest object in the eastern sky (except for the Moon) and is about halfway up the sky after midnight or so Pacific time.
 
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Thank you yzer for posting that NASA link it was very interesting ;)
 
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yzer

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Flaminpyro, did you finish the build?

I was contending with high, thin clouds moving in and out all night in addition to the full moon but I'd still call last night's Perseids a success. I only saw four meteors during two hours of observation time (a fraction of what I have seen with some prior Perseid showers) but three of those were unusually large. Conditions filtered out smaller meteors. The best meteor was at 1:11 a.m. PDT. This one was orange and green and trailed the widest gold colored streak I have ever seen. The trailing streak lingered for a couple of seconds before fading out entirely.

The clouds let me take one look at Jupiter and some of its moons at about 2 a.m. before I called it a night.
 




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