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(meteorobs) Hunting the peak of a meteor shower

Recently there has been some discussion about the peaks of the two
Perseid maxima.  I have gotten the impression that some people are
only interested in the main peak alone.

This shower has a very broad peak, or to be correct, two peaks that overlap
and give "nice" rates for ~24 hours.  If you're outdoors for a fascinating
experience only, and simply want to see lots of meteors and some fireballs,
I think you will find meteor rates quite stimulating from about August 11th
at 18h universal time until August 12th 18h UT.  (Give or take some hours).

It is however VITAL that you have dark skies.  Head for a place with
limiting magnitude 6.0 or better.  If you observe with a l.m. of 4.5, you
will only see 10-30% as many meteors of what can be achieved with 6.5-skies!

If you go outdoors with the intention of making a serious observation,
and submit it to for instance IMO, you do not need to concern yourself
with the exact time of maximum.  Instead, you should observe the shower
for >2 hours each night for several consecutive nights.  It may sound
tough to stay awake for many nights, but it is extremely rewarding to
watch how the rates vary.

It would be a beginner's error to observe only one night in a year (i.e.
a one-hour observation centered on a shower peak), and believing it has
some scientific value.  It is unlikely that such an observation has much
value at all, because dozens of other people will cover the maximum at
the same time.  At least during a major shower like the Perseids.  It is
still important that you submit your observation, since of course you
_could_ be the only observer at this specific moment...

All the best,
Trond
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