Perseids Meteor Shower 2009 - August 12th

This year, predicted maximum takes place on the night of Wednesday August 12th between 17:30hrs and 20:00hrs UT. The downside this year, apart from the timing, is a waning Gibbous Moon, rising around 11pm when it gets dark and staying up all night. Only the brightest meteors will be visible. The Perseids have been known to produce fireballs, or bollides. These are pretty spectacular, so it is still worth watching despite the Moon's presence. Predicted normal rates are between 80 to 100 meteors per hour during maximum. Activity on each night either side of the 12th will also yield good numbers depending on seeing conditions. The radiant lies between the 'W' of Cassiopeia, and Perseus, as an observer is facing northeast.

TIP: Download a free copy of Stellarium - www.stellarium.org - and install it on your computer. Use it to find and recognise Perseus and the nearby constellations. You can also simulate the night of August 12th by going in to the Settings, and changing the date and time. Watch the stars fall from the sky on your screen!

Post your observations on IFAS: Let your fellow observers know what you saw during the Perseids in the Observing Reports forum.

Clear Skies,

Seanie.

I could count on my fingers and toes the amount of Perseids I've seen this Century. The few I did see when the weather played ball were just the short lived streak type. One of my cherished celestial memories however was a Perseid shower around 1990 when I was a teenager. That year, it lived up to the hype with about 100 an hour and with every second one being a fireball leaving a glowing smokey train behind it. Spectacular. Nearly every Perseid shower since for me has been a damp squib. Quite often literally!

Hi All!

Just wondering if anyone has developed or found a way of using some sort of motion sensor to catch meteorites with webcams/security cams?

I have seen a few bits of software online but they are not working (for me!)

I saw in previous topics a camera like this was mentioned

www.gpinternational.com.mx/_archivos/bc6002hdn-8-30.pdf

any reviews on it?

I haven't read your link Graham, but I think Armagh Observatory have an interesting piece of kit to try and capture meteors. It is something like a motion-sensetive security camera, aimed towards the sky, and kicks in the 'record' mode almost instantly when a bright meteor (or eye-catching event) takes place. This kind of system is also used in UFO detection.

Seanie.

Boo. The weather is looking bad for this...
as usual.

Tonight looks bad up here in the North, but Wednesday night has more of a chance, the peak is during daytime so either night would do.