Not Mars, but a Meteor Shower!

[GreenEyedLadyDesigns]

The DH just read and article about a major meteor shower that will take place tomorrow - Thursday nite/Friday morning in the US. I checked it out, and this one is true.

You can read about it here - there are even a couple of tips for taking pictures!

http://www.chiff.com/science/perseids.htm

[msbrad]

Bill was talking about this one tonight.
He said...his mama watched this meteor shower, the night before he was born. And it took place on Aug 12, 1947.
Well...he was born on Aug. 13!!
tomorrow is Aug 12...
Oh... I am going to try.

[Ellie]

It would be great to see.:) What time should I set my alarm clock for? I couldn't find a time to see the shower on the article.

[GreenEyedLadyDesigns]

I just saw this in another article about tonite:

"Just after sunset, low in the south-southwest sky, the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn will appear in a tight grouping just above the new crescent moon. Venus will be the brightest, Mars will be slightly above it and to the left and Saturn will be to the right. The moon will set quickly, leaving the sky dark for optimal meteor viewing."

Another article said:

"The predicted peak hours are during the European night (19.00 – 06.00 GMT). So if you are in the US, the peak may be earlier in your night, whereas for those in Asia and the East, the peak may be later in your night."

So now I need some smart person to tell me what time that is in CA. From what I can find, the best here is going to be shortly after midnight.

[Karen]

This time conversion site will be able to help you Vicki.
(http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc)
Karen

[GreenEyedLadyDesigns]

Thank you, Karen!

[Ellie]

We had a cloudy night and didn't see a thing :( Did anyone see the shower?

[NancyP]

AARRGGGHHH!! Forgot to set my alarm!! They said you may be able to see it Fri night/Sat morning also. Will try again tonight.

[Andrea]

I was outside with Sadie last night, just before bed and seen the crescent moon with Venus and wasn't paying attention....came inside and went to sleep! DUH!!!!!!!!

[GreenEyedLadyDesigns]

I went outside at 12:30 and then again at 2:00 am.

Since we live so far out in the boonies, there was almost no other light to interfere and the sky was beautiful! I spent hours ahead of time setting up my camera and researching the best way to capture some of the shower. Sadly, I got nothing useful - well other than some photos that look kinda like what you see when you rub your eyes too hard!

However, I did learn:

1. How to set the "bulb" setting on my Canon Xsi

2. How to use my wireless remote to keep the shutter open for as long as I wanted. Ah HA!!!

3. That trying to angle the camera even further upwards by making one leg of the tri-pod shorter than the other two does not work. Duh.

4. That you really have to have a good wide-angle lens to capture meteor showers.

5. That critters really do go bump in the night - not sure what those things were that ran across my driveway at o'dark hundred, but there were several of them and those suckers were fast (probably coyotes chasing something)! Scared the you-know-what out of me and nearly caused a disaster because of point 3 above.

6. I'm too old to site on the pavement for any length of time without back support and regardless of how much junk there may be in my trunk, it isn't enough of a cushion against cold concrete.

7. Next year, I'll just enjoy someone else's photographs and admire their skill and patience.

8. I really do love where I live - its beautiful even in the dark!

[NancyP]

Vicki, I am laughing SOOO HARD after reading all that!!!!
Well, nothing tonight as we are suppose to continue with the showers all night. So guess I'll have to wait until next time.

[Jazz2000]

I forgot but my SIL who lives in Chicago suburbs says she got up at 3:30 am (central time) & was able to see them.

[Magnolia57]

I got to see one lonely Perseid on Friday night around midnight. We just went out into our back yard, but there are so many trees around that we can only see a small patch of sky. Then there are all the lights - we live in an urban area.

[KimR.]

I went outside at 12:30 and then again at 2:00 am.

Since we live so far out in the boonies, there was almost no other light to interfere and the sky was beautiful! I spent hours ahead of time setting up my camera and researching the best way to capture some of the shower. Sadly, I got nothing useful - well other than some photos that look kinda like what you see when you rub your eyes too hard!

However, I did learn:

1. How to set the "bulb" setting on my Canon Xsi

2. How to use my wireless remote to keep the shutter open for as long as I wanted. Ah HA!!!

3. That trying to angle the camera even further upwards by making one leg of the tri-pod shorter than the other two does not work. Duh.

4. That you really have to have a good wide-angle lens to capture meteor showers.

5. That critters really do go bump in the night - not sure what those things were that ran across my driveway at o'dark hundred, but there were several of them and those suckers were fast (probably coyotes chasing something)! Scared the you-know-what out of me and nearly caused a disaster because of point 3 above.

6. I'm too old to site on the pavement for any length of time without back support and regardless of how much junk there may be in my trunk, it isn't enough of a cushion against cold concrete.

7. Next year, I'll just enjoy someone else's photographs and admire their skill and patience.

8. I really do love where I live - its beautiful even in the dark!

Wow, V, you learned a LOT outside at o'dark hundred even if you didn't get any good shots!

[estherf]

I went out to see what I could see....too many street lights to get a good view of anything. Boooohoooo.....

[Traci]

I also went out to see what I could see....but :eek: FELL ASLEEP! :eek: Hmmm....must be gettin' old or sumpin'.......