• My Northern Hemisphere Friends: Stay 'Up All Night' to Watch the Perseids meteor shower!
    64 replies, posted
Source: [url]http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/perseids_2011.html[/url] [quote]Who can see it: Given clear weather and dark skies, the Perseid meteor shower can be seen by most of the world, though it is best viewed by observers in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Perseid radiant doesn't climb very high above the horizon or isn't visible at all. So Southern Hemisphere observers will see fewer Perseids than their northern counterparts. Places where the Perseid radiant isn't visible include the southern parts of Australia, Africa, and South America, and all of Antarctica. Where to look: If it's not cloudy, get as far away from bright lights as you can, lay on your back and look up. Put the horizon at the edge of your peripheral vision as you let the sky and stars fill your field of view. Give your eyes some time to adjust to the dark and you should start seeing Perseids. No binoculars or telescopes are necessary!" About the Chat Looking for a good reason to enjoy an August evening? This year's Perseid meteor shower peaks TONIGHT -- Friday, Aug. 12 and into tomorrow morning -- Saturday, Aug 13. The Perseids are considered the best meteor shower of the year by many, but with the full moon washing out all but the brightest meteors, rates will probably only be 20-30 per hour at most -- weather permitting. The Perseids rate in the southern hemisphere is quite a bit lower, since the Perseid radiant doesn't climb above the horizon. Make plans to chat with NASA astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as they answer your questions about the Perseids via live Web chat. Join them on Friday, Aug. 12 at 11 p.m. EDT -- this will be Saturday, Aug. 13 at 03:00 UTC GMT -- then make plans to stay "up all night" until 5:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 13. Tips for converting UTC to your local time. Joining the chat is easy. Simply return to this chat page a few minutes before 11 p.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 12. The chat module will appear at the bottom of this page. Simply type your name to join the chat, then we'll start taking your questions at 11 p.m. EDT. Watch the Perseids! Live Video/Audio Feed A live video/audio feed of the Perseid shower is embedded below. The camera is mounted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. During the day, you'll see a dark gray box -- the camera is light-activated and will turn on at dusk each evening. At night you'll see white points, or stars, on a black background. You can also access these links to more all sky cameras to have other views of the sky. Before the camera activates, you can still hear the audio of meteors passing through the sky, creating blips, pings and whistles. The meteors themselves don't make sounds, but they ionize the air around them as they burn up. These ionized air molecules reflect radio waves back to our antenna. You can also watch throughout the night and see a Perseid fireball composite "grow" as new Perseids are added to a composite image, courtesy of ELP Allsky in El Paso, Texas. [/quote]
boring
I would, but I have to work tomorrow, and it gets bloody cold staying outside watching rocks burn up in our atmosphere.
No chance, Cloudy as hell over here.
[QUOTE=valkery;31701529]I would, but I have to work tomorrow, and it gets bloody cold staying outside watching rocks burn up in our atmosphere.[/QUOTE]They're not burning up in the atmosphere. Several thousand miles away to be exact.
Nooo! I have had three weeks of clear skies that I've stargazed on, and today is the first day with clouds!
[QUOTE=mac338;31701567]Nooo! I have had three weeks of clear skies that I've stargazed on, and today is the first day with clouds![/QUOTE]We for once have clear skies. I feel lucky. And for you idiots that think "these iz some space rockz burningz in the atmospherez" here is what this meteor shower is. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids[/url]
I am an avid star gazer and astro-lover. Been waiting for this one since last year when it rained the entire time. Really, really disappointed about the clouds, but eh, there are more days. Not as active, but still.
Oh shit, that's fucking cool
After reading the article I looked out my window.
Things like this make me love living on this planet.
Nope, we have cloudy weather tonight. Why couldn't this happen yesterday? It was so beautiful outside.
[QUOTE=kaine123;31701863]Things like this make me love living on this planet.[/QUOTE] Love this universe, love it's wonders, love it's people. Life is amazing and I am privileged to be able to witness the greatness of nature and humanity. Joy! :dance: I am a geeky 17-year-old with no girlfriend and no clue where my future lies, but 90% of the time I feel like the happiest person on the planet, and damn, that's more then enough for me. I love life because I appreciate it's wonders - like this.
hell yea just in time to watch it
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/voswmt.jpg[/IMG] All "clear" for me.
Sadly, the clouds cleared up, but it being Norway, at 4:40 AM it's fullbright sun. DAMN YOU ULTRA-NORTHERN HEMISPHERE!
[QUOTE=WaffleCopter;31701770]After reading the article I looked out my window.[/QUOTE] after reading the article i checked the weather app on my phone :v:
[QUOTE=mac338;31702055]Sadly, the clouds cleared up, but it being Norway, at 4:40 AM it's fullbright sun. DAMN YOU ULTRA-NORTHERN HEMISPHERE![/QUOTE]Ew, seriously? That sucks.
what time PST?
[QUOTE=faze;31701973][IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/voswmt.jpg[/IMG] All "clear" for me.[/QUOTE] whoa you live like 15 minutes from me
[QUOTE=faze;31702093]Ew, seriously? That sucks.[/QUOTE] I'm down south in Norway, so in August there's night between 1 AM and 3 AM. In the middle of the summer there's a week where there's no night at all and we get midnight sun, but it's not as extreme as it is up in northern Norway; [video=youtube;HdIuGB_Pxjk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdIuGB_Pxjk&feature=related[/video] That's the darkest it gets in summer.
[QUOTE=Rocket Man;31702125]whoa you live like 15 minutes from me[/QUOTE]Where's that?
Oh hell naw, I watched this movie. I stay up to watch the meteors, a meteor lands close to me, then an alien parasite comes out and fucks me just cuz I'm the only brotha in the movie
I have to start getting up early for school on Monday :( I've only seen a meteor once in my life: I was riding my bike in the neighborhood and I saw something, very bright, burn up and break apart above me.
HAH! Jokes on me! I live in the cloudiest city in the world, want to go gazing at the stars? FAT CHANCE! want to see a meteor shower? HAH! Want to go look through your telescope? USELESS! Today's summer is the best fall i've ever seen.
Strong moonlight, check. Overcast, check. City lights, check. FUCK!
I stood outside for two hours and I only saw three thanks to the rediculous floodlights coming from the rona near my apartment. Don't forget - this is just the peak. It goes on through the 20th and will still have plenty of meteorites for the next couple of days.
It's a full fucking moon. Even if I tried it's too damn bright out to see shit.
[QUOTE=MIPS;31705087]It's a full fucking moon. Even if I tried it's too damn bright out to see shit.[/QUOTE] Full moon is saturday night
There are 2 problems with me doing this; 1: I'm in the city, light pollution would drown them out, and 2: I'm in a basement.
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