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(meteorobs) Perseid Meteor Shower



-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] --
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This is just a friendly reminder that the Perseid meteor shower reaches
maximum activity on Tuesday morning August 12. If your skies are clear I
would suggest spending at least an hour watching this beautiful display
of nature's fireworks. Your backyard will do for seeing the bright
meteors but so many more can be seen from rural areas away from city
lights. The moon will be at first quarter and will set around 1:00 am
local time. Observing before moonset will prevent you from seeing
fainter meteors and will result in lower activity. The exact time of
maximum activity is predicted to occur near 0815 Universal Time. This
corresponds to 4:15 EDT, 3:15 CDT, 2:15 MDT, and 1:15 PDT. If you can
only watch for one hour I would suggest centering your hour on these
times. For those who encounter cloudy skies or cannot watch on weekdays
I would suggest watching this weekend. The Perseids are already
producing 10 shower members per hour from rural sites and this will
double by the weekend. On the morning of maximum activity one can expect
to see roughly 30 Perseids per hour from urban sites and double 
(possibly triple this figure) from rural sites.

To watch the Perseids (or any meteor shower) the key is to get
comfortable. Do not stand and expect to last long. Lie in a lounge chair
and face halfway up in the sky. Although Perseid meteors can be seen in
any part of the sky, to see the most activity it would be wise to face
anywhere from due north to due east. Facing this direction will allow
you to include the radiant ( the area from where the meteors originate)
in your field of view and allow you to see Perseid meteors shooting in
every direction. 

For information on how to record meteors I would suggest visiting the
NAMN (North American Meteor Network) website at:   

http://medicine.wustldot edu/~kronkg/namn.html

I would also check out the links to other meteor sites available from
this website.

Finally, if anyone has last minute questions I will be glad to answer
them by email. I promise to respond ASAP. 

If you have IRC capabilities I will be available live at 11am EDT on
Saturday August 9. I will be using the server: Centurion.daldot net

Once logged on look for the room titled "#namn"


Best Wishes for Clear Skies to All!

Bob Lunsford

International Meteor Organization