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Ottawaman
08-10-2005, 10:18 PM
Perseid Meteor Shower 2005
Borealis2000News
The 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower on August 11/12

"The annual Perseid meteor shower never fails to provide an impressive display. During the peak of the shower, sky watchers at clear dark-sky viewing locations in the northern hemisphere are expected to see 60 to 80 meteors per hour. The best time to watch the Perseids will be on Friday morning between 1:00 and 5:00 am. The two hours after sunset on Thursday and Friday will also be a good time to spot bright slow-moving meteors (so called: Earthgrazers) that produce long and colorful tails. Unable to watch the shower before dawn on Friday? With peak rates over 40 Perseids per hour, Friday night and Saturday morning should be productive as well."

http://www.borealis2000.com/
Bogie
08-10-2005, 10:35 PM
Neato! Hoping for clear skies!
Skyguy
08-11-2005, 01:46 AM
Neato! Hoping for clear skies!And no mosquitos...
Frogy
08-11-2005, 06:34 AM
Missed the last one due to clouds so I hope tonight is nice and clear too and as Bogie said "Neato!".
Ottawaman
08-11-2005, 07:55 AM
Which direction do we look? East I hope.
Skyguy
08-11-2005, 03:25 PM
Which direction do we look? East I hope.If you want to... But you'd be better served by looking straight up, laying on a big towel or reclined beach chair.
The meteors will seem to radiate away from the constellation Perseus (hence the name of the shower.) If you want to see the constellation, it'll be up ~1 AM tomorrow morning in the NE. That bright red "star" due east you'll see is the planet Mars.

(Looking at the latest weather forecast & satellite pics, it looks like the GTA might be clouded out for the most part tonight...)
Skyguy
08-11-2005, 04:44 PM
Oh yeah... Speaking of Mars, the next mission to the Red Planet is scheduled to be launched tomorrow at 7:43 AM EDT. (The launch has already been scrubbed twice due to weather & technical issues.)

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/) will be the the largest payload ever sent to the planet to date. It will map Mars in extreme detail, monitor it's global weather & climate, search for water, and serve a technology testing bed for faster Earth-Mars communications and as an orbting relay satellite for future Mars missions.