Remember -- Perseid Meteor Shower tomorrow night

[SteppingRazor]

Around 3-5 am is the best viewing time. Get at least 10 or 20 miles from the nearest town, further for full-blown cities. No need for binoculars or a telescope, but pack plenty of beer and LSD :hippie:

OK, OK. Just kidding about the illegal drug use. Or not.

In any case, this should be the best Perseid shower in years, as the moon will be just a sliver in the sky, making the meteors much more observable. Should be awe-inspring.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Thanks for the reminder!!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. that would suggest that the universe is more than 6000 yrs old

So obviously it cannot be happening.

Seriously, my telescope is ready. I love these type of showers. My luck, though, we've been in a cloudless drought for three months. I bet they come tomorrow.

[wtmusic]

8. Meteor showers were intelligently-designed for entertainment

but seriously, a telescope won't help for "shooting stars"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

10. not even a tiny one?

[wtmusic]

11. they move too fast

Best way to observe meteor showers:

lay on your back and look up

:)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. hmmm in that case gotta find a straw for my vodka tonic.

a long one.

[wtmusic]

13. Always be prepared

Difficult to stir from that position also. Best to find a host/hostess to assist you.

[ClusterFreak]

3. Can the shower been seen in the northeast? n/t

[SteppingRazor]

5. Anywhere in the northern hemisphere...

Where it is currently nighttime, and you're good to go! They're saying it should be upwards of 80/hour! (barring light pollution(

[Dudley_DUright]

6. Sure

Here is an article from PA on how to see the shower:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15008401&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6

[livetohike]

4. Thanks for the reminder

It's my husband's birthday and we always make some time to watch the Perseids :-).

[Maddy McCall]

7. Here's a good article on it at NASA.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22jul_perseids2005.htm

[mourningdove92]

9. Thank You For the Reminder!

One of my favorite annual events.

[Dogmudgeon]

14. Where to look

With the name "Perseids", you'd naturally look around for Perseus. But Perseus can be difficult to identify unless you are a serious stargazer.

Look for the constellation next to it, Cassiopeia. It is shaped like a W -- or an M -- and it should be high in the sky for most observers in North America.

The visual source of the meteors should be at the lower left point of Cassiopeia when you sight it as a W. In most years, after your eyes adapt to the dark, you can expect to see about 20-30 meteors an hour. In really clear, dry weather, 50 an hour are possible.

And, here's something to keep in mind -- a number of astronomers are predicting that the Perseid shower will storm within the next few years. A meteor storm will produce 500, 5,000, 20,000, even 100,000 meteors per hour. The Leonids (November) stormed in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 -- they storm in a 33-year cycle that marks the comet that generated them.

Good watching!

--p!