PCW Memorial Observatory – Erika Rix

The optimal viewing dates for the Perseids meteor shower are quickly approaching. Perseids 2010: visual data quicklook from the International Meteor Organization

…..expect the “normal” peak of ~100 meteors per hour to occur in the night of August 12-13 between 18h and 7h Universal Time.

Interested in recording your observations with IMO? Familiarize yourself with their Standard Procedure and then record your observations using their Visual Observation Report Form

I’ve been planning on several observing sessions this week and tonight was a perfect night to get out there under the stars. Had I been a little more prepared, I would have reviewed guidelines for proper observation recording so that I could contribute my observation from tonight. It was a spur of the moment decision to grab my sketch pad, headlamp, and pencil to draw the meteors and their directions. I got home from work and changed into my pj’s, grabbed my sleeping bag and headed down to the hillside in front of the observatory with the dogs on my heels. Laying on my back with Freckles keeping my neck warm and Riser at my feet, Pegasus was directly overhead and Andromeda was a wide smudge in the sky en route to Cassiopeia. Jupiter was on the other side of Pegasus looking every bit the part of the giant planet that it is.

The highlight of the session (other than watching the show of course) was getting smacked in the forehead by what I believe was a bat. They were swooping down overhead to catch insects. I recorded 13 meteors in the sketch over the course of an hour. Prior to sketching, I observed 4 more. This was a dry run. I believe next time I’ll print off a sky map and draw them directly on that instead of quickly putting in a few constellations on my paper.

2010 Aug 09, 0600 UT - 0700 UT Perseids

~ by Erika Rix on August 9, 2010.

Posted in Meteor Showers
Tags: Perseids