🌠 HEY Y'ALL THERE'S A METEOR SHOWER 🌠

perseids gonna peak this weekend, saturday dusk to sunday dawn, moon at 10% illumination aw yeah baybeeeeee

"oh but what if there's clouds" that's no problem, check this visibility map and go to where there isn't clouds

https://weather-radar-live.com/cloud-cover-map/

"but it very bright where i am, city lights drown the stars :(" this dark sky map has got u covered

https://www.darkskymap.com/nightSkyBrightness

i am gonna make so many wishes probably

Really wishing it could have worked to be up in the UP or Northern Michigan this week.

aw jeez, sorry you can't make it out there. i've never been to either of those places; do they have good sky? (all i know about the yoop is that pickles the drummer for dethklok is from there so it must surely be metal)

there's grassland a couple hours east of where i am that usually delivers a bounty of starfall but idk, the weather mages are foretelling some cloudy nonsense >:(

the perseids are generous, though -- if you have a clear patch of sky and a little time to gawp at it you might see something amazing, even in the depths of a city!

undefeated fireball champ btw

https://science.nasa.gov/science-red/s3fs-public/styles/large/public/mnt/medialibrary/2013/07/26/histogram_strip.gif

☄️☄️☄️
Fireball champion Perseids set to light up the skies this weekend with 100 meteors per hour
☄️☄️☄️

I remember sitting on virginia beach to watch the perseids back in 1993. I was astonished to see red hot fireballs zooming out of the sky, trailing smoke, like something out of flash gordon. Never seen anything like it since, due to cloudy skies or light pollution or just forgetting about it. Hoping for clear skies tomorrow.

At its 1993 peak, rates for the Perseid meteor shower reached about 350 meteors per hour, or more than 3 times normal.

what no i'm not envious, i've always been this shade of green

i've only ever seen one proper fireball, out of the corner of my eye while driving home at dawn after a geminids shower a few years ago, but that mofo was ridiculous and i want more, so many more, give me all this fireballs

crossing my fingers for clear skies! but at the same time not gonna get my hopes up too high because it's fine, the stars are always gonna be there

https://www.wboy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/08/Perseid-2018.gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq2xfCgIzk4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJLU-EDxDiw

i've never been to either of those places; do they have good sky?

I'm sure there are better places, but I've never seen more stars than the times I've been in the middle of the UP, near Lake Manistique. There's also a dark sky park in Northern Michigan, just across the bridge from the UP, but I've not been there yet.

i hope you can get away to somewhere wonderful sometime & see a trillion trillion stars, jon (or replace 'stars' in that aspiration with whatever phenomenon you most wish to see)

meanwhile

https://the-digital-reader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/simpsons-old-man-yells-at-cloud.jpg

because i couldn't find a picture of 'cat mutters sour imprecations at forecasted partial cloud cover'

i've tried a couple proper dark sky sites (one an observatory, the other a town) and uh, well... maybe if one is a dude it's less awkward.

forecast tonight where I am: solid cloud till 2am :(

boo! and also hiss! ima pray for a meteorological miracle round your way, ledge

Some good ones on the livestream from Mauna Kea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ACeGhWQxEE

cool, thank you!

zero luck, oh well I'll try again next year, next year...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4R97AeM6IE

Couple of really bright streaks last night and several seagull-based false alarms before the clouds came over about midnight. Ah well.

i saw one!

saw a bunch!

Failed to see any but was in a place with a lot of lights (some stars visible so I thought I had a chance but apparently nah)

I didn’t manage to get out of town to see the meteor shower so it was very cool treat to see a big, bright yellow meteor tonight.

¡¡2 weeks 2 geminids!!

blah blah taurids, blah blah leonids, who gives a care

[maybe perhaps the andromedids might return? but they'll likely be faint if they even decide to show up at all]

the ♊️✨geminids✨♊️ should be pretty dope this year, though! their peak practically coincides with the new moon so the sky will just be stars and falling stars (fingers crossed no clouds please please please)

it's a little vexing how they're always in december when it's cold where i am but what can you do, and anyway most years are so rich with meteors that i usually see a good number from my window if i can't make it out of the city

the nights of wednesday/thursday december 13/14 through the morning of friday december 15, you'll probably start seeing a few at dusk, then a pretty good show from 9/10 pm on, and the peak of the peak around 2 am if you really like to party

We list two peak mornings to watch this year because for North Americans, the shower's fairly brief maximum falls between them. It's predicted for about 19h UT December 14th, which is 2 in the afternoon on that date Eastern Standard Time.

sorry for norteamericanocentricity

I fantasise about driving the car out to somewhere with a bit less light pollution, but I won't. Might sit in the garden though.

https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/234/485/079/798/572/original/a13aaa133a420428.jpeg

garden stargazing ain't nothin to sneeze at, you got your bathroom close by and also all your cozy warm blankets 💖

sleeve u got 2 weex 2 sort this out homie! book tix 4 a death (-adjacent) valley star party or meet up w/ yr local conclave of 12' lizard haarp techs while wearing an unseasonably low-cut blouse and see what happens

but i also find that if i've been thinking about meteor showers a lot then i start having v lush dreams of them. sky glittering w/ torrents of rainbow explosion and so forth -- arguably superior to freezing yr tail off in the wee hours of a weekday morn (tho ymmv)

https://media.tenor.com/6HyI0WpK4YYAAAAC/glitter-star.gif

soon

https://media.tenor.com/LgLdwKjCR4AAAAAC/geminid.gif

probably not soon for me though since some "weather" nonsense is scheduled. very rude imo!

2nite, coming to a sky near you

https://media.tenor.com/lLt3P_W30QsAAAAC/stars-dance.gif

didn't get a chance to go outside till 11, at which exact time the clear sky started to cloud over. I waited for five minutes and saw one very standard shooting star, waited another five and saw another one. went indoors as it's well past my bedtime.

2 more wishes than you had before, at least! 💫⭐️✨🌟

It's perseid time again

cloudy bah

Replay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1liLJfYT8

leonids on sunday. which may explain why last night I saw a proper fireball - glowing bright white, smoke trail, the works. I saw it over some houses as I cycled to see some fireworks, light pollution was absolutely irrelevant and though the sky was clear i think it might even have been below any possible cloud cover so I'll definitely spend some time outside on Sunday night.

omg so jealous!!!! freaking love fireballs so much. maybe one day i'll actually get a proper look at one?

i don't usually bother with the more modest showers, esp when it's chilly outside, but you done tempted me

visible in daylight or gtfo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBu-yUzWXqg

(takes a while to start, soundtrack ligeti)

https://media1.tenor.com/m/OBGAMkcS6zkAAAAd/dessi-dessi-allison.gif

Stayed outside for 8 minutes, was massively overcast with low clouds and despite what I said above I expect this pretty much made it pointless. Saw nothing.

Next hope for meteors or disappointment: The Geminids, due to peak on 14-15 December with more than 100 meteors per hour from the trail of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

aw ledge :( one day the stahs shall align 4 thee

maybe even THIS FRIDAY NIGHT-SATURDAY MORNING when the geminids pop off (tho the near full moon will drown out the more delicate meteors)

I forgot to get up early to look for these. will there be sunday morning chance?

yeah sure maybe, you missed the peakypeak but if you like to chill and look at stars you'll likely catch a few meteors on sunday, and if you don't then at least you got to chill and look at stars

The meteor shower will reappear on Saturday night into Sunday morning, though only half as many meteors will be visible.

it was 100% overcast, i was busy in the evening and then it was way past my usual bedtime and i just went to bed, didn't even look out the window.

dammit ledge that sucks. my skies were clear but my stupid schedule needed me to be in stupid bed so i could do stupid things the next day, ugh

but okay check it here's the plan: there will be rather a lot of moon (~90% full) for the perseids peak around august 11-12-13 2025, which is all weekdays anyhow, so i wouldn't consider it worth going waaay out of your way for. but if you do happen to have time free around then and want to do outdoorsy summer night stuff then maybe consider a lil trip to someplace known for clear dark skies and you'll get meteors as a beautiful bonus! plus you never know when you'll get another chance, not to be too gloomish.

next year's geminids peak (december 13-15) is kind of more ideal in that the moon is darker (~20%, a much more manageable moon) and over a long weekend, saturday-monday, so imo it could be worth your while to start considering a wee getaway for that time, life permitting, as always.

then of course there are all the other mini showers thru the year, any of which could align w/ your schedule/weather! any random clear dark night could net you a falling star, who knows? and at the very least you can look out at the universe. our sister planets, our neighbor stars, the itty-bitty galaxies. that's not nothing! well, it's mostly nothing. but that is pretty cool too.

aurorae in de skies

Severe G4 geomagnetic storm sparks northern lights across US and beyond

https://media.tenor.com/kSGKaFUmL-QAAAAM/kermit-the-frog-dance.gif

perseids tonight, people.

i love everything abt my new home but i do miss the large flat roof over my old hackney home: if it wasnt wet or cloudy and despite london light pollution you could go up there with a rug and a cushion and lie down and look up at all the falling stars ✨✨✨👍🏽

while my roof is once again flat there's no easy access unless i hire a cherrypicker and also this building and those round it are all stiff with security lights that jump on at the slightest motion

i might take my rug and cushion out to the abandoned tennis courts by the school next door, it is pleasingly dark out there but i dont get the wide wide horizons i once had

86% moon tonight, too much moon, so the fainter wisps of meteors will be (are being, have been) crowded out by its light. still. it is good to look at the sky sometimes.

My extended family always go wilderness camping this week in Northern Michigan in what isn't officially a Dark Sky zone but it might as well be. I of course am in the home of light pollution tucking into my air conditioned fluffy bed.

it is possible, now that i think on it, that i have never properly camped

I don't recommend it.

my fam has done summer camping trips up in the rockies but i always stayed home to look after whichever animals couldn't abide a week at a campsite (since if i'd gone along on the trip then all the niblings would have glommed on to me, gah) (and i'd've had to interact with the rest of my family as well, double gah)

i bet i could glamp, though. if people still do that. have my harem set up the travel jacuzzi out under the stars, and stand guard against mosquitoes as i splish and loll.

We go camping at least twice a year, in reasonably dark places (wales) but I go to bed before it gets dark enough and even if I wake up I never want to go out and stargaze.

We're staying in a friend's house with a very large garden and somewhat outside of the bright London lights. I went out for about 45 mins last night (briefly interrupted by my wife to deal with a bloody spider in the bathroom), I saw one fireball, fairly small and short, and four regular blink and you'll miss them shooting stars.

We've just moved to the edge of town with a huge greenbelt/brownfield site directly behind the house. We were dead excited to get out our back garden and stargaze with no lights behind us, and there's a bloody great streetlamp illuminating our whole back garden.

Nonetheless we sat out for a bit and we did see a gazillion wee blinking light ones and a couple of more visible ones. Zero fireball ones.

Yeah, we have a similar issue. You can see more of the sky, but without other buildings around you to block street lights and security lights, you don't get the same level of darkness in your garden. If it was the winter, I'd just go to the beach. But not during school holidays, thanks.

Anyway, I sat out till about 1am and saw some satisfyingly bright streaks in the sky. Also the usual satellites and something that the husband reckons was the solar panels on a Starlink.

it was overcast here so i stayed in and went to bed early 😔

i have never actually spotted a perseid

Tears for Mark S.