Meteor Showers

A warm summer evening is the perfect time to be out under a dark sky enjoying the stars. All the better is there is a meteor shower to add to the already spectacular show. On the evening of August 12th the Perseid Meteor Shower will peak.

A typical Perseid shower will produce up to 60-100 meteors an hour, what regular meteor observers would call 60-100ZHR. The peak is predicted for 01h to 13h UT on Aug 13th (15h Aug 12th to 03h Aug 13th HST).

Unfortunately this years peak will correspond to full Moon, badly diminishing the prospects for observing this shower. Next year, 2011, will offer a much improved viewing opportunity for this shower with little significant moonlight to interfere.

The Quadrantid Meteor shower will occur today on Jan 4th around 01:10UT (Jan 3rd at 15:10HST), with a possible strong peak somewhere between 21h Jan 3rd and 06h Jan 4th UT (11:00-20:00 Jan 3rd HST). At peak this shower can provide better than 100-120ZHR, about two meteors each minute.

The Quadrantids have produced reliable showers recently and this year is expected to be no different. The Moon will be quite close to new, creating little interference for observers. Unfortunately the predicted peak is not ideal for western hemisphere observers, including Hawai'i. Meteor observers in Europe and Asia have the front seat for this event.

New Moon just eight hours after the predicted Quadrantid maximum creates ideal circumstances for observing the shower from northern hemisphere sites this year. From many such places, the shower's radiant is circumpolar, in northern Boötes, attaining a useful elevation only after local midnight, and rising higher in the sky towards morning twilight. This means places at European longitudes east to those of central Asia should be best-placed to record what happens. - from the IMO Website

The Quadrantid Meteor shower will peak next week on Jan 4th around 01:10UT (Jan 3rd at 15:10HST), with a possible strong peak somewhere between 21h Jan 3rd and 06h Jan 4th UT (11:00-20:00 Jan 3rd HST). At peak this shower can provide better than 100-120ZHR, about two meteors each minute.

The Quadrantids have produced reliable showers recently and this year is expected to be no different. The Moon will be quite close to new, creating little interference for observers. Unfortunately the predicted peak is not ideal for western hemisphere observers, including Hawai'i. Meteor observers in Europe and Asia have the front seat for this event.

New Moon just eight hours after the predicted Quadrantid maximum creates ideal circumstances for observing the shower from northern hemisphere sites this year. From many such places, the shower's radiant is circumpolar, in northern Boötes, attaining a useful elevation only after local midnight, and rising higher in the sky towards morning twilight. This means places at European longitudes east to those of central Asia should be best-placed to record what happens. - from the IMO Website

The Quadrandtids are named for the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, now part of the constellation Boötes. The radiant rises about 02:00 local time at our southerly latitude, thus there is little point in watching for meteors any earlier in the night.

However, computations by Jérémie Vaubaillon have suggested the peak could happen at a somewhat different time between roughly 21h UT on January 3 to 06h UT on January 4 (see the diagram on HMO p. 129). The occasional long-pathed shower meteor might be seen from southern hemisphere sites around dawn, but sensible Quadrantid watching cannot be carried out from such places. - from the IMO Website

Watching meteors requires no more equipment than your eyes and a dark sky, and can be enjoyable for just about anyone.

Just got in from watching a few meteors. It is 1am and quite near the predicted peak. I was seeing not quite one meteor a minute, in line with predicted levels for this year's Geminid shower. Many I did see were quite nice, bright, long lasting and short lived trains left behind. I also observed the yellow hue that Geminids are noted for.

The actual rate is probably higher than my quick count. The Moon has not quite set, leaving some moonlight to illuminate the vog we currently have overhead. The view of the sky from my driveway is somewhat restricted, a bit less than half the sky visible. A proper count would most likely give a rate around 60-80ZHR.

The view is improved by the fortunate fact that the streetlight across from my driveway seems to have died. A circumstance I will not be reporting to the county road department anytime soon.

Tonight is the peak of the annual Geminid Meteor Shower. The meteors will begin around an hour after dark, when the radiant rises, with rates of up to 120ZHR. The show will improve dramatically when the Moon sets a few minutes after local midnight. As the peak is predicted for 01:00HST on the 14th, the timing is nearly ideal for observers across North America and the Pacific. Even if your timing is not ideal, the Geminid peak is quite broad, allowing observers across the world a chance to watch this reliable shower.

The Geminids are one of the most reliable meteor showers each year. Producing around 100-120 meteors each hour near the peak. Such reliability usually makes it worth losing some sleep.

The Geminids are caused by debris left along the orbit of an object cataloged as 3200 Phaethon and are active from Dec 7th to Dec 17th. Generally regarded as one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Geminids have a broad peak, lasting over 24 hours, allowing observers around the globe a good chance to observe.

This year the peak is predicted for Dec 14th at 11hUT (Dec 14th, 01:00HST). Since the radiant is just rising an hour after sunset (northern hemisphere) it is not necessary to get up early for this shower, staying up into the evening will work as well. The show will improve the later you stay up as the Moon will set a few minutes after local midnight, leaving the remainder of the night available for meteor watching.

One of the finest, and probably the most reliable, of the major annual showers presently observable, whose peak this year falls just after first quarter Moon. Moonset is within half an hour of local midnight across the globe for the maximum, while the Geminid radiant culminates around 02h local time. Well north of the equator, the radiant rises at about sunset, reaching a usable elevation from the local evening hours onwards. In the southern hemisphere, the radiant appears only around local midnight or so. Even from more southerly sites, this is a splendid stream of often bright, medium-speed meteors, a rewarding event for all observers, whatever method they employ. The peak has shown slight signs of variability in its rates and timing in recent years, with the more reliably-reported maxima during the past two decades (data from HMO, p. 171) all having occurred within the range λ⊙ = 261.5° and 262.4°, equivalent to December 13, 18h40m to December 14, 16h00m UT this year. Stronger activity has been found to begin occasionally as early as λ⊙ = 260.8° (December 13, 02h UT) and to persist until λ⊙ = 262.5° (December 14, 18h). VID suggested Geminid activity was detectable from November 30 to December 18, the earlier start for the shower rather unexpected from past visual investigations. The tabulated predicted timing above coincides with post-moonset skies across most of North America on December 14, but with the likelihood of near-peak rates persisting for almost a day, most of the world should have the chance to see something of the Geminids’ best under dark skies. - from the International Meteor Organization 2010 shower calendar

For Hawai'i the best bet is probably to observe on the evening of the 13th into the morning of the 14th, where we should be able to observe the predicted peak once the Moon has set. On the Big Island the best place to go for skywatching is the Mauna Kea VIS, at 9,200ft the sky is usually clear and dark. See you there?

The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks today. Unfortunately the predictions for the best of this peak fall during daylight hours for western hemisphere observers, but the Perseids are known for a reliable and broad peak. Begin watching around 23:00 local time as the radiant rises and meteors begin to appear. Rates of up to 100ZHR are possible if the timing is right, 10-20ZHR for the days before and after peak.

The meteor shower is in addition to the spectacular planetary conjunction going on right now and at it's best tonight. This makes today a must observe night for any serious skywatcher.

Tonight will see an increase in activity in the Perseid meteor shower. The traditional peak of this shower occurs tomorrow, August 12th. But since the peak occurs during daylight house (for western hemisphere observers) there is a fair chance of elevated activity in the morning hours of the 12th, late tonight and into the dawn. This could mean rates of up to 100ZHR, one hundred meteors per hour from this reliable shower.

Even if you are not lucky enough to catch a peak, the Perseids should provide rates of 10-20ZHR for much of the week, reason enough to get out to observe.

A warm summer evening is the perfect time to be out under a dark sky enjoying the stars. All the better is there is a meteor shower to add to the already spectacular show. On the evening of August 12th the Perseid Meteor Shower will peak.

A typical Perseid shower will produce up to 60-100 meteors an hour, what regular meteor observers would call 60-100ZHR This is what a typical observer would see given a dark sky and good conditions, a metric called zenith hourly rate or ZHR. You can estimate this rate by counting the meteors seen in a shorter period. If you count all that you see for ten minutes and multiply by 6 you would have a reasonable estimate of ZHR. As the rate of meteor arrival is irregular it is necessary to count for ten minutes or more to achieve a decent average rate. Conditions such as light pollution or clouds will result in some faint meteors being missed and a lower count.

With new Moon on the 9th, there will be no moonlight to obscure the meteors, a beautiful, dark sky to enjoy through the night. The spectacular planetary conjunction in the evening sky will be at it's peak allowing for a great night of skywatching.

The Quadrantid Meteor shower will peak tomorrow morning, Jan 3rd around 19hUT (09:00HST), with a possible strong peak somewhere between 12h-16hUT (02:00-06:00HST). At peak this shower can provide better than 100-120ZHR, about two meteors each minute.

While this shower has been a reliably good show for the last few years, this year's shower will be obscured by a bright gibbous Moon. The Moon rises about 21:30 on January 2nd, placing it high in the sky much of the night, not setting until well after sunrise the next day.

The Quadrandtids are named for the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, now part of the constellation Boötes. The radiant rises about 02:00 local time at our southerly latitude, thus there is little point in watching for meteors any earlier in the night.

While the Quadrantids may be obscured by moonlight, 2010 offers other good meteor opportunities for skywatchers. Both the Perseids in August and Geminids in December will occur with little moonlight to spoil the show during the coming year. Watching meteors requires no more equipment than your eyes and a dark sky, and can be enjoyable for just about anyone.

The Geminids are one of the most reliable meteor showers each year. Producing around 100-120 meteors each hour near the peak. Such reliability usually makes it worth losing some sleep.

This year the peak is predicted for Dec 14th at 0510UT (Dec 13th, 1910HST). Since the radiant is just rising an hour after sunset (northern hemisphere) it is not necessary to get up early for this shower, staying up into the evening will work as well. There will be no significant interference from the Moon this year, with the peak occurring a few days before New Moon.

One of the finest, and probably the most reliable, of the major annual showers presently observable, whose peak this year is virtually coincident with new Moon. The Geminid radiant culminates around 2h local time, but well north of the equator it rises about sunset, and is at a usable elevation from the local evening hours onwards, while in the southern hemisphere, the radiant appears only around local midnight or so. Even from more southerly sites, this is a splendid shower of often bright, medium-speed meteors, a rewarding sight for all watchers, whatever method they employ. The peak has shown slight signs of variability in its rates and timing in recent years, with the more reliably-observed maxima during the past two decades all having occurred within 2h20m of the time given above. The main predicted timing favors places from all across the Americas eastwards to western Europe and western Africa. An earlier or later timing would extend this best-visible zone some way eastwards or westwards respectively. Some mass-sorting within the stream means the fainter telescopic meteors should be most abundant almost 1° of solar longitude (about one day) ahead of the visual maximum, with telescopic results indicating such meteors radiate from an elongated region, perhaps with three sub-centres. Further results on this topic would be useful. - from theInternational Meteor Organization Website

For Hawai'i the best bet is probably to observe on the evening of the 13th, where we should be able to observe near and just after the predicted peak. A great year for these pre-Christmas celestial fireworks, with the moon only a couple of days from New phase and the prospects of up to sighting up to 120 meteors per hour.

Dan Birchall, a fellow VIS volunteer and operator at Subaru, was also taking photographs of the Leonids. I must say he did better than I did, with a number of frames showing both Leonids, satellites and some bright sporadic meteors. I like his framing, including a couple large domes that seem vaguely familiar.

The evening started with portents of impending doom. Walking out of the observatory I was greeted by snow, a heavy dusting and a world turning white. This on the night I wanted to stay on the mountain and watch meteors?

The telescope was loaded in my vehicle parked at Hale Pohaku. I had arranged for the next day off from work so I could sleep. I had crackers, cheese and sausage in the cooler for a midnight snack. I had a parka, insulated boots, ski pants, gloves, everything needed to stay warm. I was all ready to enjoy the night.

Arriving at Hale Pohaku it was worse... fog and drizzling rain.

Remember that the annual Leonid Meteor shower peaks tomorrow tonight! Well... actually early Tuesday morning.

With the peak forecast for 15:10UT (05:10HST) on the17th, both the nights of the 17th and 18th offer good Leonid observing for those of us in Hawaii, with a slight advantage to the morning of the 17th. The Mauna Kea VIS will be open all night on the 17th into the morning of the 18th. There will be no significant Moon out on either night, offering good dark skies!

I have the 17th off from work, and thus will be able to spend all night out observing, maybe a good night of telescopic observation of fall deep sky objects, followed by some meteor watching as the radiant rises later in the night? If everything goes well I plan to setup at the substation site. VIS anyone?

As the 2009 Leonid Meteor shower draws closer there is quite a bit of information showing up across the web about this year's shower...

• A good Leonid article with discussion of the predictions at Space.com
• A report on the 2008 Leonids with what it means for the 2009 Leonids
• A extensive and detailed analysis of the predictions in a NASA Meteor Environment Office PDF file
• A Facebook event has been setup for the 2009 Leonids

And, of course, my Leonid writeup here on Darker View.