Spectacular Perseid Meteor Shower Due Wednesday

[bananas]

Source: Fox News

Every August, just when many people go vacationing in the country where skies are dark, the best-known meteor shower — the Perseid meteor shower — makes its appearance.

The "shooting stars" promise to deliver an excellent show this year to anyone with clear and dark skies away from urban and suburban lights.

The best time to watch for meteors will be from the late-night hours of Wednesday, Aug, 11 on through the predawn hours of Aug. 13 – two full nights and early mornings. Patient skywatchers with good conditions could see up to 60 shooting stars an hour or more.
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According to the best estimates, in 2010 the Earth is predicted to cut through the densest part of the Perseid stream sometime around 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday.
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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/08/10/spectacular-perseid-meteor-shower-expected-aug/

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To find clear and dark skies near you, go to http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/

[slackmaster]

1. I'm heading out for the high desert Thursday afternoon

The viewing should be best after midnight Friday morning.

[bananas]

9. The Fluxtimator

http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html

[slackmaster]

11. Excellent. Thanks.

The Moon shouldn't be an issue. It's pretty new.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Thanks for the reminder.

[elleng]

6. Where ya gonna go, Brklyn??? Da BRONX????

:rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

17. I got a park and the ocean right outside my house..remember???

:thumbsup: :hi:

[elleng]

20. Yea, but city lights???

:hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

21. Don't affect me in the park at night..

[onehandle]

3. They always say that about meteor showers and it's never 'spectacular.'

Once in my life I would love to see something like they did in 1833.

[elocs]

5. That's been my experience. I might not say "never", but ver seldom are they spectacular.

I have gotten out of the city where it is dark and have seen very little. It's been disappointing for years.

[Tunkamerica]

13. I saw the leonids a few years ago on the parkway around asheville

and it was pretty cool.

[marybourg]

8. I did see a meteor storm once, but it was a Leonid. I've never,

in 50 years of sky watching, seen even 1 Perseid meteor. Mr marybourg did, though, from the top of Lassen Peak.

[RobinA]

28. I've Seen

the Perseids a couple times because I often go to the beach in NC that week. I'm going on Saturday, so I'm hoping some are left over. I guess spectacular depends on your frame of reference. Nothing astronomical is exactly millenium New Years Eve fireworks, but ANYTHING astronomical that can be seen moving with the naked eye is pretty spectacular if you keep a sense of what you are seeing.

That said, yeah, the first time I heard "meteor shower" I expected something like the aforeposted picture... Live and learn.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. In August of 1986 I was out at Fire Island during the Perseids...and it WAS spectacular.

A bunch of us just laid out flat on the beach and looked up at the sky for a couple of hours. It was amazing.

[Kali]

24. the shower that happened fall of 2001

october? november? it WAS spectacular, at least from central AZ

[yowzayowzayowza]

4. Thx for the headzup!!! n/t

[Speck Tater]

7. That explains why it started clouding up here after many clear days.

It's no wonder there aren't many astronomers in Oregon!

[jaksavage]

25. Head east young man.

[kestrel91316]

10. Great! Now if we could just engineer a gigantic blackout here in Lost Angeles.......

Note to Agent Mike: THIS IS A JOKE

[BrklynLiberal]

19. "Lost Angeles" lolol

[WhiteTara]

12. it is on my calendar

and it looks like skies will be clear in our area (NW Arkansas) Wednesday and Friday. I'm getting ready. I want to make beds outside so we can wake up and see them.

edited for correct tense...my calendar is filled with stars and meteors and planets.

[a la izquierda]

14. i can't wait!

my husband and i are going to the lake to watch. it'll be very romantic.

[Lucky Luciano]

15. I am vacationing on the big island of Hawaii..wonder if I can convince my

Girlfriend to drive to the top of Mauna Kea again for another sunset and shooting stars!

[slackmaster]

26. That would be incredible

Above the clouds, up in that clean air.

[Soylent Brice]

16. first Mars no this. august is shaping up to be a great month astronomy fans.

K&R

[LandR]

22. Go Look in the West Right Now for Venus

Cool I will watch some of it for sure - I have been doing some star gazing the past couple nights and yet again Venus is visible tonight too. Look in the west before about 11 pm and the thing outshining everything else and looking like a UFO is Venus. The later into the night it gets, the less bright Venus becomes - at least for me in good ol' Georgia.

[slackmaster]

27. Venus is about 3/4 full. Saturn is close to it and worth looking at.

I can see the disks of both planets, and Saturn's rings easily in my new telescope.

[LandR]

29. Right on

Yeah I'm limited to my eyes (need to invest in a good scope), but on the 7th I was able to see Venus, Saturn, and Mars pretty good, but I couldn't see Mars last night and really had to look hard for Saturn the past two nights. Pretty cool though to think about what's going down on Venus.

[northernlights]

23. yippee...it should be clear here in Maine

It's pretty dark now by 8pm and I get out of work right then. Once I get home, it'll be very dark on my country road.

I remember getting up in the middle of the night and driving for miles to see the Leonids, freezing outside, laying on my car. Now I'll just be able to step out onto the back stoop, sit on a chair and lean back :D