Forum Topic

meteor shower from tomorrow

Now while looking up at the sky in the last half hour,nice lying down on the rattan sofa with a little breeze apart from seing some sats pass over and the Britten-Norman Islander circling high above now retired to bed i did see some shooting stars. About one every 10 mins and not bad either so i just had a look online and given the forecast we may be in for a treat.  Its the Perseid meteor shower which we have not been able to see for some years due to the cloud cover. Here is what it says for uk. "The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most well-known astronomical events and the best time to see it will be between Thursday, August 11, and Saturday, August 13""It will be most active between midnight and 5.30am and according to the Met Office, visibility is set to be very good with little cloud coverage forecast"

Julian Pavey ● 1503d7 Comments

Thanks for the tip-off Julian. The sky tonight is absolutely clear - I looked for the Islander and although I couldn't positively identify it I was surprised to see just how many high-flying aircraft there were though I didn't see any shooting stars.  Of course it is also a full moon tomorrow - called a sturgeon moon apparently.

Bruce Hammal ● 1503d

"I looked for the Islander and although I couldn't positively identify it I was surprised to see just how many high-flying aircraft there were" Was quite a few aircraft in the sky last night. Most are easy jet and ryanair which pass over head from south to north for stansted airport. And most others are high up going east to west and visa versa. If you use online tracker many are cargo flights in and out of the likes of Cologne going to the USA which are dediated cargo hubs 24/7 and is the european base for UPS and others."though I didn't see any shooting stars." I just happened to see one and then thought i see another in the corner of my eye. I then concentrated on a fixed part of the sky and over 20 mins see another two but they last about 2 secs so you do have to be fixed to a part of the sky. They were all coming from the east towards the west. Tonight onwards i expect you wont have to be so fixed on part of the sky and wait some time. I do think if past memory is correct that they do come from the E,NE towards W S/W so you most likely dont want to be looking west or south

Julian Pavey ● 1502d

The moon was very bright last night too.  I thought I had left a light on as I walked up the stairs.  Thanks for the info on the meteor shower Julian.

Nora Watkins ● 1502d

Patrick Moore meets Terry-Thomas
michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1502d

Thank you Julian - one that had slipped my memory!

Delilah Hall ● 1502d

Given the weather i think it should be a good one. Better if your out of london. Should have taken my brothers offer of going to his house in canada. Its set on a lake in know man land and i would imagine it to be pretty spectacular except for the flies in the day time.

Julian Pavey ● 1502d

We were watching last night and as you say lots of flights.

Janice Evans ● 1502d