Posted on 08/12/2015 5:41:49 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
Set your alarm clocks. The Perseid meteor shower, the annual celestial lightshow that Space.com com calls the most widely observed and dependable meteor display of the year, will peak tonight and early tomorrow morning.
NASA says this year's show promises to be more spectacular than usual.
"If you see one meteor shower this year, make it August's Perseids or December's Geminids," according to the space agency. "The Perseids feature fast and bright meteors that frequently leave trains, and in 2015 there will be no moonlight to upstage the shower."
And Jupiter's positioning this year will make for even better viewing, as the planet's gravitational field can "slightly perturb the comet particles, just enough to nudge them closer to the Earth," Space.com adds.
At peak activity during the shower, the meteor count could be up to 100 meteors per hour, NASA says, with meteors radiating from the direction of the constellation Perseus.
The Washington Post says that "cloud cover forecasts suggest the viewing will be good over much of the Eastern and Western U.S., with the potential for cloudiness from the central Rockies to the Upper Midwest."
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Step outside and look up?
It is damn cloudy here, heck!
I hate these articles.
Most people just want to know when to look and which direction.
Generally northeast for most of the U.S. If you know how to find Cassiopeia, the big W, Perseus is her neighbor. Another way to find her is she sits well above the “cup” of the big dipper.
Anytime after sunset should be good. Peak viewing is around 1 AM eastern.
Thank you.
I’ve seen them several times on the Outer Banks of N.C.
It’s an incredible Light Show, and I’ll never forget it.
(During recent years, I’ve been stuck in ‘LightPollutionVille’)
-JT
Same here.
Where in the sky should we look? I’m in s Florida tonight.
Few clouds....
Thanks!
North East sky
At about 1:00 am find the North star and look about 40 degrees to the right.
Was up most of last night.
Perfectly clear skies.
Possibly the worst Perseids I have ever witnessed. Maybe a dozen over several hours. No bright or spectacular fireballs.
A bust.
....Perfect...trains in space!!!
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4:00am
Straight up.
Thanks!!
Ooooo!
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