Brothers of the Perseids

Short and stout, the asterism is easy to spot in the dark sky: Look for the protruding lip facing down, toward Earth and imagine the Milky Way pouring out. The red-and-orange-hued gas cloud, also known as Messier 8, is home to hundreds of young stars. Expected to last a whopping 3. ET—this marks the last in a trio of summertime eclipses. Earthlings will be treated to the most popular meteor shower of the year as our planet passes through the path of Comet Swift-Tuttle.

A few can be blazing, but most are about as bright as your average star, so you want to be away from lights. Your back yard might be fine, but make sure street lights are blocked and your house lights are off. Both of these take time to fully kick in. White light will bleach the rhodopsin, by the way, so if you need some light, use a flashlight with red cellophane covering the front. That will preserve your night vision.

You need to be able to see a lot of the sky for minutes or hours, so you want to be comfortable. A chaise lounge or a folding beach recliner is a big plus. The ground tends to be cold at night, and wet, too. You lose most of your body heat through your head, so a hat helps a lot. I recommend not using a telescope. Telescopes see only a small part of the sky, and meteors appear in random spots. However, Jupiter is well positioned for viewing, so this is as good a chance as any to do some observing, and I hate to tell people to not take advantage of a nice night!

But be prepared to hear everyone else gasp and then mock you for missing the best meteor evah. You can scan the sky, look for interesting things, and still be able to look around quickly if a bright meteor appears. Why not get familiar with the sky? You can find charts at local bookstores, and online if you do a little searching. Sagittarius, Scorpius, Hercules… this is a fine time of year to be out looking for cosmic landmarks.

Oh boy, is this one important. Having other folks with you will help you stay awake, and honestly, the joy and beauty of a meteor shower is best shared. One of my favorite times ever with The Little Astronomer was watching the Leonids shower years ago. She had a blast, and not just because she got to stay up until 3: How cool is that? This may be the best thing to bring, and the easiest. Meteor showers are simply wonderful.

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Thanks for the awesome reminder. Possibly a rock thrown at 40 miles per second…. Best location for those on the eastern seaboard is always the beach.

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No matter how many obnoxious light are right behind you, if you can block their direct impact on your retinas, you can gaze out over the ocean no lights at all for miles. The eastern sky will be very dark, and meteors will be astounding.

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For those who have never seen a meteor shower, stay away from meadows in which lightning bugs congregate. I remember back in the early 80s, lying on a hilltop in the Brecon Beacons, half out of the bivvy bag but nice and warm in my sleeping bag, watching the most spectacular Leonid firework display I have ever seen. Since then I try to watch as many of the various showers as I can. Unfortunately, I have never since been in such a good location with such a pristine crystal clear sky as I was that night to see any that good, for nothing has ever come close to that night in either numbers or intensity.

Thanks for reminding me of one of my most treasured memories. I agree, watch the perseids.

Perseids - Wikipedia

Where did you get that idea? Probably the same place I did, somebody who thought you should wear a hat said it, and you remembered it as a good way to make people wear hats. One thing my uncle does periodically is to ask the neighbor to turn off the light for the night when special events require it. Guide dog, white cane, braille books, etc. Shotgun for dealing with looters, petty dictators, etc.

Willingness to move to the Isle of Wight and set up a breeding commune. Thanks for the list of practical items like warm clothing, something to sit on, etc. I have a few outstanding memories of meteors. One was watching a shower in Tuolumne Meadows on a summer camping trip. So few lights… clear mountain air… the moon already low… streak after streak crossed the sky. Another was also in the Sierra Nevada, near sunset.

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A spectacular bolide crossed nearly from west to east, leaving a fading trail behind it. Utterly silent, almost too bright to look at, it finally disappeared behind a peak across the valley from our campsite. Other sites say that the head needs to be kept warm because the brain is very dense with blood vessels that need to be kept at the right temperature. Based on thermodynamics I would think you would lose heat fastest from where you are the hottest. A hat will make me warmer either way.

Skepticism has much bigger fish to fry before attacking the little guys.

Back on topic, the 12th is my birthday, and I will be spending it with comet dust. Thanks for the tips, Phil. It only takes a few minutes for the pupils to dilate. By far the larger component of dark-adapted vision is the sensitisation of the retina, and it is this component that takes 20 — 30 minutes. IIRC, rhodopsin has three different forms, one of which is its normal normal state in dark adaptation, one of which begins the signalling cascade that activates a nerve impulse and one of which is intermediate being less light-sensitive but still able to absorb a photon and change to the form that activates a nerve impulse.

I guess you mean something like a sun-lounger. I was camping in the National Forest campground right outside the park the park was full , and was watching through a lot of big pine and fir trees, but the next day while hiking to Nevada Falls, I met a guy who had rock-climbed Half Dome the previous day and was on his way down. He said they were spectacular from the top. I wish I had though ahead and had driven up to Tuolomne or Tioga Pass the previous night…: I have a question: Or is it the same sight for anyone on any side of the world? Just a couple of questions that have been on my mind.

Anyone, by chance, know what the total time of the shower will be? Hopefully the bad weather will be gone in the next days. The Earth needs many hours or even days to travel across the debris field causing a meteor shower, and so meteor showers are going on non-stop for hours and days. I hope the weather will be friendly for me. Just need to find an open area and some bug spray — thanks, again for the heads-up, BA! It will be clear tomorrow night, so I might see something.

Last time I spent all night outside for about 45 meteors. From midnight to dawn. The weather is rainy now, but expecting clear skies for Sunday night. Lounge chair is a MUST. You were my first choice. I may try to view them Sunday or Monday morning. The sun rises around 7: The night sky looks much better than downtown if I am just ten miles out.

Of course you should wear a hat. It does keep you warm! As for having bigger fish to fry, I agree that there are beliefs out there that are much more dangerous, much more idiotic, or unfortunately often both. If you just blindly accept what your science teachers tell you, are you better than someone who blindly accepts what their pastor tells them? I am very very excited. It is supposed to be clear skies and nice weather all weekend so I wil be taking out my mm refractor, some beer, some food and some friends and going camping at a place with the darkest skies avalable in CT.

Thanks for the tips Phil! Please help me get rid of the clouds and rain showers.

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Its been this way since Tuesday. Even if the hat is a balaclava that covers everything but your eyes from the neck up. Not sure about that one. Then I can just turn the heater on if it gets cold. I always forget about the meteor showers at the last minute! Downriver community gathers to welcome home 9-year-old after treatment for cancer News. Texas couple shaken after baby monitor hacked, man threatens to kidnap child News. Michigan Innocence Clinic pushing for Gov. Snyder to grant pardons to 3 men All About Ann Arbor. Warmer temperatures, shower chances coming this week Weather.

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