Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher (and his son) tell you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 

 

August is good for two things in the sky: bright planets and bright meteors.  Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter reign supreme this month, with the annual Perseid Meteor Shower heating things up with spectacular observing conditions for mid-month.

August 11th – 12th – Perseid Meteor Shower – An EXCELLENT year for the Perseids!  In decent skies, you can watch 60 meteors per hour, and you should be able to see some very bright ones here and there the week before and after. Remember, you’re seeing the bits of dust left over from Comet Swift-Tuttle burning up as they crash into the atmosphere at 37 miles per second.

Some advice for watching:

    Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock

    Look toward Perseus (In the NE, rises throughout the night until sunrise where it will be almost directly above.)  That is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from.

    The strategy to observe this year is to get out there whenever you can, but the later you stay up, the more you’ll see, since the radiant will be higher.  The shower is usually technically active from mid-July to late August, so you may see some Perseids in the days leading up to and after the peak as well. 

Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear

Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something. 

If you’re feeling extra nerdy, do a scientific meteor count (S&T and IMO)

 

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