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Old 12-08-2009, 19:56
tvqueen1905
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Do you not know how to find north?
not fully no
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:06
Ricardodaforce
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Do you know which direction the sun came up from this morning?
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:20
Carlos_dfc
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So why can we see them, without special equipment at night, is it because they're so bright?
Binoculars and telescopes aren't much use for watching a meteor shower because they are so fast-moving, and you never know exactly where one will appear.

They appear seemingly at random - and streak across the sky in a matter of a second or two - by the time you had raised binoculars to our eyes - it would be gone.

That's not to say you CAN'T EVER see them with an optical aid though.
I've seen loads whiz through my field of view while using telescopes and binoculars, but that's just sheer luck that they happened to pass close by to wjat I was already looking at.

You'll see far more by picking an area of sky, sitting back on a deck-chair or lounger, and gazing at as wide a patch as you can.
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:27
HenryGarten
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Binoculars and telescopes aren't much use for watching a meteor shower because they are so fast-moving, and you never know exactly where one will appear.

They appear seemingly at random - and streak across the sky in a matter of a second or two - by the time you had raised binoculars to our eyes - it would be gone.

That's not to say you CAN'T EVER see them with an optical aid though.
I've seen loads whiz through my field of view while using telescopes and binoculars, but that's just sheer luck that they happened to pass close by to wjat I was already looking at.

You'll see far more by picking an area of sky, sitting back on a deck-chair or lounger, and gazing at as wide a patch as you can.

As you probably know there are people who are interested in telescopic meteors. I can not see the point myself. If they are that faint there is not a lot of point in looking for them.
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:30
tvqueen1905
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Do you know which direction the sun came up from this morning?
i wasn't awake when it did
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:32
Joni M
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i wasn't awake when it did
I don't know if you're joking

The sun ALWAYS rises in the east.
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:51
Pearl McG
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This is amazing free software that will show you where everything is in the sky in real time. Just change the location to nearest you.

http://www.stellarium.org/
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Old 12-08-2009, 20:51
Carlos_dfc
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i just hope i don't look in wrong direction and miss them

last night i went to try spot some with no luck

the stars were all faint
You can spot them in most areas of the sky - it's just that some areas will have a higher likelyhood.

Around 10pm to midnight - When Perseus is roughly North-east - the best places to look will by high to the East, High to the North - or directly overhead.

Shower meteors appear to shoot AWAY from the radiant - and the radiant of the Perseids, as the name suggests, is in the constellation Perseus.

If you have no idea which direction North and East are - take a close look at the following two pictures...

The first shows how to find North...
Look around the sky for either the 'W' shape of Cassiopeia - or the familliar shape of the Plough. Both will be about mid-height in the sky (35° to 45° up)
If you spot the 'W' first (it'll be on it's side like in the picture) - look to the left of it for the Plough - the 'top' of the 'W' points roughly North-ish
When you find the Plough - locate the two stars on the end - known as 'the pointers' - an imaginary line extended from the pointers, will lead you directly to the North Pole Star (Polaris)
Straight down from that, is almost exactly due North.
And while looking North - East is to your right.
http://i29.tinypic.com/246t5di.gif

The Perseids appear to emanate from Perseus - and will appear randomly in any of the directions shown on the chart below - but never actually AT the radiant point in Perseus - often even further away than the arrows on the chart, but always AWAY from Perseus.
http://i29.tinypic.com/2yzltt2.gif
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Old 12-08-2009, 21:16
tvqueen1905
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I don't know if you're joking

The sun ALWAYS rises in the east.
well yeah i know it does

just how to find east from angle of my house

now think i saw the plough last night

getting dark here hope remaining clouds clear off
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Old 12-08-2009, 21:24
Carlos_dfc
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just how to find east from angle of my house
If you are prepared to say where you live - just the town, no need to be too accurate.
(You could PM me if you don't wanna say so in the open forum)
Then maybe by telling which nearby town is North or East of you, would help???

What I mean is - from where I live - near Darlington...
Newcastle is North of me, and Middlesbrough is to my East
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Old 12-08-2009, 21:37
Confusing
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Clear sky (almost) here in Norwich, just looked out my window, can't see a thing
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:31
Pearl McG
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I'm in Norwich too and just saw about 8 in around 20minutes before the cloud rolled in.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:34
Confusing
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Go on Google Maps, see which way your house is facing.

I'm in Norwich too and just saw about 8 in around 20minutes before the cloud rolled in.
I didn't see anything an hour ago except a moving plane. What are you supposed to look for? A shooting star kind of thing?
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:37
Pearl McG
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Go on Google Maps, see which way your house is facing.


I didn't see anything an hour ago except a moving plane. What are you supposed to look for? A shooting star kind of thing?
Pretty much. They were all directly above so you really need to be lying down. They were over a large area so you can't really concentrate on one spot.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:42
kmercuryj
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Oh crap, my bedroom window is facing West!
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:45
Joni M
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I couldn't see owt too cloudy in Liverpool.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:50
Carlos_dfc
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Ayone still struggling with directions (tvqueen?)...

Now the Moon's up, due East is a tad to the right of it.
That very bright 'star' - can't miss it, brightest thing in the sky, after the Moon - is Jupiter - that's roughly South-East at the moment.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:52
Joni M
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Ayone still struggling with directions (tvqueen?)...

Now the Moon's up, due East is a tad to the right of it.
That very bright 'star' - can't miss it, brightest thing in the sky, after the Moon - is Jupiter - that's roughly South-East at the moment.
Oooh ta, gonna go and try again
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:53
TelevisionUser
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I'm in Norwich too and just saw about 8 in around 20minutes before the cloud rolled in.
That is regrettably the problem in the UK. All too often we miss out on celestial events because of the cloud and rain.

One day, I wouldn't mind going to somewhere like the Nevada or Australian deserts to see a really good Perseid or Leonid meteor shower.

Has anyone ever been to such places and witnessed truly dark (and clear) skies?
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:56
rockerchick
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I saw something, it looked like a star shooting across the sky but it didn't go too far and i didn't see any kind of trail behind it, just one and it was gone in 2 seconds.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:59
mangomoon
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Been outside since 10pm, looking directly overhead I've only seen one. Very bright.
I think I can see Jupiter, is it quite low down in the sky?
Looks like the clouds will clear in an hour or two.
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Old 12-08-2009, 22:59
GMAKAIWTY
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Its a meteor shower tonight.

I have seen a few.

Last edited by GMAKAIWTY : 12-08-2009 at 23:11. Reason: Changed title
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Old 12-08-2009, 23:01
Joni M
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Still too cloudy.

OT but took the dogs with me and they've just ragged me all over the shop trying to catch the fox!
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Old 12-08-2009, 23:01
Mootle
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Its a meteor shower tonight.

I have seen a few.
Oooooh, many thanks for reminding me
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Old 12-08-2009, 23:01
MisoSoup
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Does that start tonight?

I started a thread on them before now, (during BB8 I think) it was so much fun - people all up and down the country were out looking for shooting stars
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