Perseid meteor shower 2010: Nasa says stargazers to enjoy dazzling space show

reply to post by CX


I did see what i thought to be a satellite go past high above.....then stop dead. Do they do that? It stayed still until a bit of cloud came over and i lost sight of it.

I don't think so... But then I am no expert!

It has really cleared up here now, so hopefully there will be a bit of a show this evening! Good luck

you can see them everynite if you get far away from light polution and clouds, ive seen atleast a few every week for a year now.

so these meteorites are only the size of a grain of sand? hard to imagine that energy from such,

softball size flame and go slower.

[edit on 12-8-2010 by pryingopen3rdeye]

If your in the north east and have transport, i would recommend going up to the Hole of Horkum car park. Its quite high up on the moors and not too far from RAF Fylingdales.

Its a popular spot amongst stargazers because of the lack of light pollution, the place itself is a little eerie too. Have been there once myself to witness the meteor showers but it wasnt the clearest night and only got to see a few. Also keep an eye open for any big cats that are said to be in that area, now wouldnt that make the journey worthwhile.

The weather's all cleared up where I am in the UK, fingers crossed for clear skies tonight.

I'm going out with my new ladyfriend, looks like we'll be sitting on her balcony meteor watching after we get back. Get in.

Originally posted by PurpleDog UK
I did notice an extremely bright star in the East last night quite low down in the sky... is this what some posters are on about ?? I took it to be a planet or something ??

You were most likely seeing Jupiter, which is quite bright right now (as it should be). Some people have been claiming ridiculous things about Jupiter lately, but none of us amateur astronomers have noticed anything odd about it compared to previous years, other than the hidden cloud belt of course.

Well I live in Sweden, and I'm hoping to be able to see something tonight. I'll go out at aroung 2-3 am GMT+1 to check out wheather or not I'll also be able to see this=)

OK so I don't know about anyone else in the UK but I've been out walking for an hour and the whole sky is clouded over. I saw one star in a clear patch and that was it.

To add it's 01.30 here and I'm going out for another walk. It is quite mild here, which is the only consolation of cloud cover!

[edit on 12-8-2010 by Big Raging Loner]

heck of a show here in Orlando, some seem really close

www.orlandosentinel.com...

Stargazers who cast their eyes skyward Thursday should enjoy two-for-one celestial treats.

A heavenly threesome will appear after dusk, when a trio of planets glides above a fragile crescent moon. Later, the fabled Perseid meteor shower will adorn the night with up to 50 shooting stars an hour.

"This is the astronomy night of the summer," said Arnold Pearlstein, who writes an astronomy column for the Sun Sentinel and teaches science for Miami-Dade schools. "The Perseid is one of the top showers of the year."

[edit on 12-8-2010 by easynow]

Cool! I just walked in the door from watching them from my yard here in Tennessee. I saw a couple of really bright ones with long tails.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Didn't see a sausage. Clouds.

Hello All

Saw 26 last night, most were very FAINT but there were a couple of corkers....... i was out at 12.35 to 1.00am then clouds started massing again. I had gone out earlier at 10.30pm and it was 100% cloud cover XXXX so when in played a bit of MW2 (should know better at my age!!) then went out at 12.35 and the sky above me was 90% clear

Didn't see anything else dubious except a low flying jet going directly North which is not the usual flight pattern for either East Mids or approach into Manchester - wasn't a fighter but it was shifting.. but that's another thread I think !!

Saw jupiter again, very bright and large in the East and it was slighty higher in the sky last night.....

I need to get out more like this, weather permitting of course....

Regards to All

PurpleDOG UK

Nice clear night last night in the SE UK Saw quite a few when I briefly had a looksie before bed Absolutely gorgeous

- Phoenix

I am in Washington State and I just came inside after watching for almost three hours. I have to say that I am a bit disappointed.

Clear/dark sky, perfect for star gazing. I had read they were suposed to be really good this year so I was excited! Well....I only saw a couple a hour. One good fire ball low on the horizon and a couple of streakers, the rest were just shooting star types. It was better last year, but it is still a treat!

I saw some very cool meteors tonight. A few from the meteor shower itself but I also saw a meteor going almost 180 degrees from the rest then explode in a flash of light right above my head which was very cool. Never seen one of those before!

Also would like to add I saw my 1st actual UFO tonight. I actually saw it once before but dismissed it as a plane with weird nav lights but not this time. It was flashing colors, mostly red. It's hard to judge speed and distance, especially at night but I know it wasn't a satellite or regular plane because as I watched it, I saw it "eject" a small white orb up out of it. The orb moved away from the craft and up some and did a few turns before I lost it in the stars. The UFO never seemed to change trajectory throughout this before I lost it behind some trees. Unfortunately I don't have a camera so I have no proof but I know what I saw wasn't a conventional plane, at least nothing the military tells us about.

Sorry to go off topic but I wanted to share my experience before I forget details.

Totally jealous!

Seems quite a few folks got a decent show! I was out for a few hours wandering about like a crazy person but the clouds were everywhere.

I hear that these meteors can still be seen into middle of August, so I'll perhaps get a look over the next few days!

Thanks for the replies!

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Big Raging Loner

It always the same whenever I travel over to work in the MRI or Salford Royal Hospitals, raining from Macclesfield onwards !!! That's the payoff for living over there, half decent football teams (?) and poor weather !!!

Oh Well....

Nice thread on giant spiders........... Just think, you would NOT outrun that 5foot monster .....



Regards

PurpleDOG UK

The blasted weather has been my enemy, couldn't get past the clouds last night and now it is relatively fine but more weather moving in for tonight. The least i can hope for is some lightning to brighten things up.

Hey, you guys across the pond arn't all that special. I'm in apple valley
So Calif. In about the last 1/2 hour I've seen three major meteors cross the sky looking east.

It's on as I write this. Green lite.

[edit on 13-8-2010 by randyvs]

For anyone like myself who did not get to see the shower

Here is some pics from the Telegraph which have famous landmarks with the meteors as the backdrop!

www.telegraph.co.uk...

And here is a video!

What a let down the UK weather was, went to Wales specifically for this event and a spot of fishing and most of the night was covered in cloud What I did see though was pretty cool and definately glad I got to see it, some of the comets were so bright you could see them through the clouds!