The sky at night ... August 12th - 14th

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pargyle

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Just been putting the dustbin out for tomorrow's collection and saw this massive fireball streak across the sky ...

Just looked it up on the internet and it's the annual meteor shower from the Perseids - It was travelling very fast and the trail behind it was huge - spectacular. Should be up to 50 an hour from dusk till dawn over the next couple of days if you want to see some comets. Sky is clear at last as well.

"The Perseid meteor shower is perhaps the most beloved meteor shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, though it’ll have to contend with a bright waning gibbous moon in 2014. The shower builds gradually to a peak, often produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour in a dark sky at the peak, and, for us in the Northern Hemisphere, this shower comes when the weather is warm. The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. They radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero, but, as with all meteor shower radiant points, you don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower; instead, the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. They are typically fast and bright meteors. They frequently leave persistent trains. Every year, you can look for the Perseids to peak around August 10-13. Predicted peak mornings in 2014: August 11, 12 and 13. The Perseids combine with the Delta Aquarid shower (above) to produce a dazzling display of shooting stars on what are, for us in the N. Hemisphere, warm summer nights. In 2014, as always, the Perseid meteors will be building to a peak from early August until the peak nights; afterwards, they drop off fairly rapidly. Best time of night is always late night until dawn. In 2014, there will be major interference from the waning gibbous moon on the peak nights. So try observing in late July and early August, as the Delta Aquarids are flying and the Perseid shower is building. Give the mornings of the peak a try as well, as some bright Perseids will probably be able to overcome the moon-drenched skies."
 
I have a reminder set in my computer calendar for the Perseids and do you know I have seen them only the once as it has rained or been overcast, where I have been, for ever...... Grrrrrrrrrr
I remember husband and I lying on our backs in the back garden the year we moved to our new house in Cumbria. We watched for an hour on a warm summer's night.
 
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The 'fireball' that I saw was spotted by people all over the South of the country and whilst there are some spectacular images of the meteor showers later last night it seems that nobody got any footage of the incredible sight I was lucky enough to see. I think it was a little early in the night for the professionals to be watching and the pundits are saying that it was probably a rogue meteor from the Perseids ... whatever it was it was far far bigger and brighter than anything I've seen in the past ... quite something.

For those nightowls on here there should be another show tonight but the best of it is going to be in the early hours before dawn and there's a chance that the skies are going to be clear - although the big bright moon does cast a lot of light.
 
Yes they have been here long before the Romans invaded that's why we speak an alien language
 

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