# Strong Meteor Shower Expected Tonight



## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Strong Meteor Shower Expected Tonight

I watched this last year and from my view it was pretty spectacular...

"On the night of August 11 and well into the next day, Earth will make its annual passage through the bulk of the debris shed by a comet known as Swift-Tuttle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/109P/Swift-Tuttle. Much of the debris is composed of dust-sized grains, but when these fragments come plunging into our atmosphere they can create a dazzling meteor display. Not only are the meteors fascinating to watch, they also leave short-lived streams of ionized gas in their wake. The Swift-Tuttle meteor showers are known as the Perseids http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31...erseids2009.htm because they appear to come from a point in the sky that lies within the constellation Perseus. This year's shower is forecast to be especially active because we're about to pass through a somewhat thicker filament of dust that boiled off Swift-Tuttle in 1862.


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## john7349 (Jan 13, 2008)

We are expecting a cloudy evening here in the Portland OR area.


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

We have a 30% chance of rain here which means it will be clear as a bell. I will try to get out and see it.

Micah


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## JMAC (Jul 31, 2009)

Would love to see it but rain expected here in North Alabama.

I did get a chance to see the ISS flyover a few weeks ago with the Shuttle attached! The kids thought it was "so cool"

For those interested, you can find when the next fly over will be for your location at

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

Cheers.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

I never knew how many interesting things could be blocked by weather until I became an amateur astronomer.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I've seen it before and it is really cool. Plan to be out tonight if it stays mostly clear.

Also got to see a few satellites (or something) a couple weeks ago. First time for that. One was so large maybe it was the station. (All through binoculars, and all just looked like big fast-moving stars.)


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

Thanks for the heads up!







Hopefully, we will be able to see something on our way home tonight.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

We had a car down the street get the wheels stolen off a few months ago, so now everybody leaves lights on. WAAAYYY too much light polution for stargazing. I may try getting up early tomorrow and driving out of town a bit.

How was the show last night?


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## JMAC (Jul 31, 2009)

BoaterDan said:


> I've seen it before and it is really cool. Plan to be out tonight if it stays mostly clear.
> 
> Also got to see a few satellites (or something) a couple weeks ago. First time for that. One was so large maybe it was the station. (All through binoculars, and all just looked like big fast-moving stars.)


Dan,

ISS is so bright, it is very easy to see in the city. It is the brightest opject (excluding the moon) in the night sky.

Cheers.


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

No luck at my house. It was cloudy with thundershowers.


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## rialynn79 (Jul 28, 2009)

I got a few neat pictures last night. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I would show ya. I'll try again tonight if the clouds clear out of here. It was amazing last night. Should still be able to see it tonight too.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

JMAC said:


> Dan,
> 
> ISS is so bright, it is very easy to see in the city. It is the brightest opject (excluding the moon) in the night sky.
> 
> Cheers.


Oh I didn't know that. I thought it was similar to a satellite. Does it move at a satellite's pace across the sky?


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## JMAC (Jul 31, 2009)

BoaterDan said:


> Oh I didn't know that. I thought it was similar to a satellite. Does it move at a satellite's pace across the sky?


In most cases, much faster since its at a much lower orbit. It travels at about 17,240 miles per hour. I have seen ISS several times and ISS with Shuttle docked only twice. It is fun to search and watch for it. The kids love it and of course brings on a slew of science questions.

Cheers.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Looked around on the internet. Looks like here it typically is visible 2-3 minutes and only gets to max of about 20 degrees, so city issues probably prohibit good viewing most passes.

I'll look one of the better viewing nights and see if I can spot it.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Dan,
It varies what the angle of the pass will be. Because the orbit relative to the ground changes every night, the time of the pass (if it is visible at all) and the angle of the pass will change quite a bit. NASA has a service that will email you t he pass predictions based upon where you live. I used to subscribe but it got kind of annoying after a while so I elected to stop the emails. I'll try and look it up.

EDIT: HERE it is.

BBB


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Yeah, that's where I went. Just have to pick one of the better nights where it gets a little higher in the sky is what I meant. There's a LOT of light pollution on the horizon around here.


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