Meteor Showers
 

The next upcomign Meteor Shower is July 27-29, originating from the S.E., called the, "Aquarids".

Thanks for the reminder, Morpheus.

My son and I used to catch the regulars whenever we could.

Your welcome. I was outside tonight. Caught one streaking by in the North.

I'll catch the shower if I can. We're told to be expecting a good monsoon season. Hope it's not too overcast.

Website
 

www.spaceweather.com is cited in this astronomy book I have on loan, "Nigh****ch", is a great spot to be informed of meteor shower dates and data, and other phenomena such as the Sun's activity.

A CME burst from the Sun, it says, is set to reach us on Earth on July 31st, with the possibility of minor, to medium elctromagnetic interferences.

Anyone outside at night, checking out the Aquarids shower? Occurring between the 27-29th.

Will it be clear or cloudy tonight? - www.cleardarksky.com


At this page of, www.heavens-above.com, you can load your latitude and longitude data, and note times of visible satellites passing by your location, overhead:
http://www.heavens-above.com/ManualLocationInput.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecifi ed&alt=0&tz=CET

Whaat..? You don't know your latitude, or longitude??? (How do you get around..?)

oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/Latest.html - Will take you to the Hubble Site with the latest news, articles, and photos.

www.universetoday.com - Is a site loaded with current astronomy news and images of recent discoveries.

The Perseid shower (which is already under way) is promising to have a wonderful peak (August 11-13) this year... the moon is looking to be more forgiving this year, unlike last year. You don't have to keep your eye on Perseus, as the meteors will streak across the entire sky. Best observed between midnight and dawn.


That CME (and the M6 flare associated with it) is a mere kitten, but should produce some nice aurorae around the poles.

CME (2012-07-28 22:00:32 - 2012-07-29 03:59:20 UTC)

Thanx Lulu. Unfortunately the Moon is too bright, and the constellations aren't hardly visible, or the Milky Way.

Nothing going on from my perception. Oh well.

I actually just got back from a bit of sky-gazing... I believe I caught a glimpse of one Perseid, but, unfortunately, a huge storm rolled on in and cut my gazing short. I haven't had much luck with sky-gazing for the past couple of years... it seems every time there is an event in the heavens it is either hidden behind thick cloud cover or a rain/snow storm (from my vantage point, at least). Come to think of it, I haven't really brought my telescope out much in the past year.

During the Perseid peak (Aug 11th - 13th), the moon will be in its waning crescent phase and, as an added bonus, the moon will be near Venus and Jupiter. So, barring any cloud cover or storm, viewing of the Perseid peak this year should be most excellent. The Perseids put on an awesome show... the dance across the sky like no others... very bright and fast.

If you do go out during the peak and your view is relatively clear, you can expect to see upwards of 50+ Perseids an hour. Remember, they are best viewed between midnight and dawn (but, because the moon will be rising in the predawn sky, you can probably catch a decent show in the late evening, as well).

I do hope you get to see them!

I hope I get to see them!

*fingers crossed*

:D

I'll have the popcorn at the ready...

This morning I went out bef0re dawn, and you know, the big show is Venus, and Jupiter.
There are three bright lights, north of Taurus' horns, I think the lesser is Mars. Not sure. And there is Auriga, the pentagon, or, Jewish Star.
I don't get how the ancients got a chariot out of that.

To the east this morning, something blazed for a few seconds, as it was moving north, and then faded out. A satellite, or perhaps even the space station. It shined like Venus for just a few seconds.

Go figure
 

Night before last, went out late....dispite the overcast, shooting star, right overhead.
Go figure...

Don't you love looking up at the exact (perfect) moment? It's almost as if it was meant only for you...

The moon has been too bright for me for the past few days... could barely even see Ursa Major last night! I'm hoping the next few days will be more eventful for me.