Colin Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Hi All, For anyone interested in these events, there are 3 visiblie tonight in the space of 20 minutes from about 12:20 am. One of the will be Mag 7 from Scalloway (they don't get much brighter) Exact time, Distance and, brightness will vary according to your location.Best prediction can be had by subscribing towww.heavens-above.com Just hope the sky stays clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Had never heard of these before. Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_flare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Keep your eyes peeled for aurora as well. http://spaceweather.com suggests a reasonable possibility for northern latitudes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 I signed up with this site http://www.dcs.lancs.ac.uk/iono/aurorawatch/ but I've not yet heard from them and I signed up a few months ago. Has anyone seen any aurora yet this winter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marooned in Maywick Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 There was a splendid display sometime in the third week of December. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgb2010 Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Sounds like something to look out for : Got a calendar? Circle this date: Sunday, August 12th. Next to the circle write "all night" and "Meteors!" Attach the above to your refrigerator in plain view so you won't miss the 2007 Perseid meteor shower. "It's going to be a great show," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "The Moon is new on August 12th--which means no moonlight, dark skies and plenty of meteors." How many? Cooke estimates one or two Perseids per minute at the shower's peak. The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, the comet's tail does intersect Earth's orbit. We glide through it every year in August. Tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light--a meteor--when it disintegrates. Because Swift-Tuttle's meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids." The show begins between 9:00 and 10:00 pm on Sunday, August 12th, when Perseus rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping the surface of a pond. "Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these--"at most"--but seeing even one makes the long night worthwhile. As the night unfolds, Perseus climbs higher and the meteor rate will increase many-fold. "By 2 am on Monday morning, August 13th, dozens of Perseids may be flitting across the sky every hour." The crescendo comes before dawn when rates could exceed a meteor a minute. For maximum effect, Cooke advises, "get away from city lights." The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. Scouts, this is a good time to go camping. And there's a bonus: Mars. In the constellation Taurus, just below Perseus, Mars shines like a bright red star. Many of the Perseids you see on August 12th and 13th will flit right past it. Instead of following the meteor, you may find you have a hard time taking your eyes off Mars. There's something bewitching about it, maybe the red color or perhaps the fact that it doesn't twinkle like a true star. You stare at Mars and it stares right back. Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter in December 2007. NASA is taking advantage by launching a new mission to Mars--the Phoenix Lander. Phoenix will touch down on an arctic plain where it can dig into the ground and investigate layers of soil and ice, searching for, among other things, a habitable zone for primitive microbes. The launch window opens on August 3rd, so by the time the Perseids arrive Phoenix may be hurtling toward the Red Planet. Landing: late Spring 2008. It's something to think about at four in the morning, with Mars rising in the east, meteors flitting across the sky, and a summer breeze rustling the legs of your pajamas. Maybe you should go circle your calendar again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorgrim Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 bet its cloudy so that no one sees anything, its always cloudy up here during these natural events Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Weather can be a big problem but I remember seeing a really good Leonid (November) event a couple of years back.Biggest problem, even on very clear nights, is outside lighting. It's always best to get as far away from it as you can.You can see some Perseid meteors now if you care to spend he time looking. It's a very broad event. The peak is on Aug 12th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 ...snip...Biggest problem, even on very clear nights, is outside lighting. It's always best to get as far away from it as you can.....snip Wouldn't it be a good idea to shine the light up into the sky so that we can see whats going on. Nice floodlighting at the Clickimin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandhopper Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Aaaah, that's probably, why Lerwick was spotted in the night map:http://www.schottlandportal.de/content/lakuGeoNacht.aspBigMouth was searching the Perseid's last year ... (edit) Sorry, image tag didn't work ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorgrim Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 yes light pollutin is a real problem we live behind the new museum. the hats dock area used to be a good spot for seeing da mirrie dancers, meteorites. but there is so much light pollutin there now from the new museum and associated lighting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Beautiful clear sky tonight, lovely sunset and moon, no sign of any meteors as yet. Well done to mgb for reminding us, i'd read about the forthcoming shower a week or two and then promptly forgot. Cheers for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 It was a cracking moon tonight, almost got the camera out but couldn't remember where I'd left the tripod. Hopefully catch something on the 12th, weather permitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twerto Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 yes last night was beautiful, will be keeping my eyes peeled on the 12th too.. pray it is like last night.. ( all though slightly darker ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted August 9, 2007 Report Share Posted August 9, 2007 August 12th, eh? MY BIRTHDAY Of course there are meteor showers, it has been arranged to celebrate me being 44! Impressive? The rest of you only get a cake, I get a meteor shower!! Fx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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