2008 Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks On August 12 - But Start Now!
Written by Tammy Plotner
Perseid Against Milky Way
The Perseids are coming! The Perseids are coming! I'm sure you're already hearing the cry around the world… But what will be the best place to watch and when will be the best date to see the most "shooting stars"? Follow along and let's find out…
The Perseid meteor shower has a wonderful and somewhat grisly history. Often referred to as the "Tears of St. Lawrence" this annual shower coincidentally occurs roughly about the same date as the saint's death is commemorated on August 10. While scientifically we know the appearance of the shooting stars are the by-products of comet Swift-Tuttle, our somewhat more superstitious ancestors viewed them as the tears of a martyred man who was burned for his beliefs. Who couldn't appreciate a fellow who had the candor to quip "I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well-cooked, it is time to turn me on the other." while being roasted alive? If nothing else but save for that very quote, I'll tip a wave to St. Lawrence at the sight of a Perseid!
While the fall rate - the number of meteors seen per hour - of the Perseids has declined in recent years since Swift-Tuttle's 1992 return, the time to begin your Perseid watch is now. While the peak of activity will not occur until August 12 at approximately 11:00 GMT, this will leave many observers in daylight. For those who wish only to observe during the predicted maximum rate, the place to be is western North America and the time is around 4:00 a.m. However, let's assume that not all of us can be in that place and be up at that time… So let's take a more practical look at observing the Perseid Meteor Shower.
For about the last week or so, I've noticed random activity has picked up sharply and traceable Perseid activity begins about midnight no matter where you live. Because we are also contending with a Moon which will interfere with fainter meteors, the later you can wait to observe, the better. The general direction to face will be east around midnight and the activity will move overhead as the night continues. While waiting for midnight or later to begin isn't a pleasant prospect, by then the Moon has gone far west and we are looking more nearly face-on into the direction of the Earth's motion as it orbits the Sun, and the radiant - the constellation of the meteor shower origin - is also showing well. For those of you who prefer not to stay up late? Try getting up early instead!
How many can you expect to see? A very average and cautiously stated fall rate for this year's Perseids would be about 30 per hour, but remember - this is a collective estimate. It doesn't mean that you'll see one every two minutes, but rather you may see four or five in quick succession with a long period of inactivity in between. You can make your observing sessions far more pleasant by planning for inactive times in advance. Bring a radio along, a thermos of your favorite beverage, and a comfortable place to observe from. The further you can get away from city lights, the better your chances will be.
Will this 2000 year-old meteor shower be a sparkling success or a total dud? You'll never know unless you go out and try yourself. I've enjoyed clear skies here for the last week and without even trying caught at least 15 per hour each night I've gone out. One thing we do know is the Perseids are one of the most predictable of all meteor showers and even an hour or so of watching should bring a happy reward!
Wishing you clear skies and good luck…
Filed under: Meteor Showers
August 12th, 2008 at 3:20 am
incredible skies here in ohio. a nice high pressure system dropped in at the right time! although i swore i wouldn't watch during the moonlit hours - i did anyway. around 4:00 am things really began to rock!
by 5:00 i felt like some sort of weird gypsy pez dispenser with my celestial shawl tied around my head and blanket around my legs, sitting my rocker with my tin cup of coffee. (i thought about going out and laying in the grass for a full, open sky - but i kept having these visions of the uncomfortably large garden snake that lives in my well-groomed tomato plants joining the german shepherds and me in the blanket pile. (and yes, i know they do not come out at night - but my mind does not accept that fact when the dogs choose to lay on the deck.)
during peak activity time we were having a very solid 30 per hour here and there were probably more that i didn't observe. during the dark hours was a sweet 6 LM and one of the high points of the whole evening was simply watching the milky way curl around as the earth turned… winding its way through cassiopeia, perseus and ending in the coma of the pleiades. most meteors were short-arc - around 10 degrees of train, pale blue and around mag 1. a few had long trains, very pale and fast, 50-60 degrees and mag. 4… a few sweet earth-grazers that were so bright i would guess around -3 and, like ruth ann described, you felt like should make noise. (i believe they do… it sounds a whole lot like… "Woooooo HOOOOOoooooo!!"
)
now, i'm off to check out the ionospheric data just out of curiousity. i was going to track it periodically last night - but chose to observe instead. i believe it has a replay feature, so maybe there's some data.
i hope everyone had an equally wonderful evening!
August 12th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Hello, I've been watching the meteor shower since around 11 and have seen about 45 shooting stars. Some are small and others leave a massive streak across the sky. All in all, its been a great night! I only wish this happened every night….
August 12th, 2008 at 5:03 am
I'm in New York, I saw about 15 shooting stars between 2am and 4am. I also saw 3 falling stars which slowly fell from the center of the sky directly above my head, all the way down to the horizon. It was amazing to watch. Does anyone know the best time to see shooting stars tonite?
August 12th, 2008 at 8:54 am
hi, jessie!
well, you may have missed the premier, but you can still catch the late show!
my very best advice is this… check an hourly weather forecast for 3:30-4:00 a.m. wednesday, august 13. if it is going to be clear at that hour and you can possibly observe then? THAT is the best time.
the more the moon waxes, the more even just a little moisture in the air will scatter the light and the harder it will be to see fainter meteors, while it will be "down" before then, you really need to wait as long as possible for the last vestiges of light to disappear. i know that will only give you about 90 minutes or so to observe before dawn starts robbing the sky from the other side - but the chances are getting slimmer by the day!
best of luck to you, dear…
August 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Tammy,
Thank you fo ryour response. I cannot wait. I started work this morning at 7am and I only got 30 minutes of sleep last night because I was so excited. I will wait as long as it takes. Especially being a photographer, I was trying to 'capture the moment'.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:45 am
hi, jess!
i'm not a very good astrophotographer, but i'm pretty sure you can open the shutter with a cable for a long timed exposure… so what if it has "trails"… you might catch a meteor!
be sure to share if you do catch one, ok? if nothing else, click on my name and send it to me!
fingers crossed for you…
August 12th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Thank you Tammy. Whatever pictures I shoot, I will put up on my site as I continue updating it. If interested, you can find my work at http://www.capturedbygoodheart.com
Feel free to e-mail me at the e-mail address on my contact page.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Hey there, I was one of those that read the wrong date! But I went out last night, the 12th and in two hrs, from 2 4 am, I saw 64! I was very pleased, even if it wasnt the peak, I saw my share and even blogged about it on My MySpace Page, all are welcome to view my blog, (Shameless Plug applies!) http://www.myspace.com/miccilina
August 16th, 2008 at 7:07 am
below your right ring finger there are a comma and a period.?
a what
August 17th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Hey,
I've been searching the internet for something on the meteor i saw at 6:55am on Saturday 16th August from Brisbane, Australia. I came across this site and decided to post this. It was beautiful and the sky was absolutley cloudless. The sun had been out for a small while by this time and was rising from the oposing side. The tail was long and magnificent. I made the call out to others to get to their balconies quick smart. But alas, the others were to late. Jus wondering what this really was, and was it some part of a bigger event.