So it's that time of year again, when the prolific Perseid meteor shower peaks between the evening of Aug 11 to early morning Aug 13.
Meteors may be gay, but they're also pretty cool!
Check out this gay pride meteor.
Fuck yeah! Rainbow power!
Now if you're thinking, "hey, I want to go watch some kickass meteors extravagantly flaming across the sky" keep in mind that there are some conditions that can severely hamper your enjoyment of this spectacle. The most obvious being clouds. If ya got cloudy skies during the peak of the shower, ain't much you can do boss. You're just shit out of luck. However if you do have clear skies on the key nights in question, the next thing you need to do is get yourself someplace dark and as far away from light polluted big cities as possible. The darker the better. Some of you crumbumbs already live in nowheresville, so this is nature's way of making up for you living in such a crappy area with nothing interesting to do except watch elk mate. Also you'll have the most success watching after midnight until dawn. Generally from 2-4 am are considered the best viewing times but if you have otherwise good conditions you should still be able to see some good meteors just after midnight also.
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/blog/joerao/2010/08/10/here-come-the-perseid-meteors
Astronomers offer this advice: Get as far away from bright city lights as you can, although a few of the brightest meteors may be glimpsed even over the sooty curtain of large, light polluted metropolitan areas. Hope for a clear, dry night. You can start your watch as early as 10 p.m., although the best views will come between 2 a.m. and the first light of dawn. Any lawn or rooftop can serve as an observatory when it comes to meteor watching. Relax in a lawn chair and scan the heavens from the south over toward the northeast. They are named the Perseid meteors because their fiery trails, if extended to a common point of intersection, would seem to originate near to the Double Star Cluster in the constellation Perseus , which on mid August evenings rises from the northeast.
So I'm planning on driving out into the sticks tomorrow night and trying to catch a good show. What about y'all? Do you care enough to try to see some? What are your plans to optimize viewing conditions?
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Honestly.
this is scientific fact
edit: man it's like you guys didn't even read the OP
I explicitly stated that they're gay and pretty cool
'94, came out when they were bangin jupiter
ain't that just perfect
:^:
How does one best view a meteor shower?
From the front door of a gay bar
well, it doesn't really end that day
you'll just be missing the peak of the shower
so there should still be some meteors, just not as frequent
It'll be over, old man
Like your libido
KAPUT
so..you're saying there will be lots and lots of meteors?
If I'm still awake around 2am I'll have to check these out. I consistently miss out on all kinds of astronomical events, and I never got to see the aurora from the last solar storm.
I have to be up for school the next day, but I keep missing these and it's pissing me off so I might try and go to sleep early and have a nap before class.
that would be prime viewing time
just try to get away from city lights as much as possible
Anyone know why the trail in the OP pic goes from red to green like that?
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South Dakota is pretty...not light polluted.
JordynNolz.com <- All my blogs (Shepard, Wasted, J'onn, DCAU) are here now!
Gonna drive up into Squamish valley, that should do it:
http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia,+Canada&ll=49.887446,-123.258362&spn=0.098544,0.264187&t=p&z=13
And it's a clear night!
And I live near some sticks!
...and I live in the Southern Hemisphere. Stupid Perseids.
sometimes when they have their lights on, the entire sky is aglow with the color orange and you can't see anything
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Take me with you to Squeamish Valley!
But eeghhk I hope there aren't a lot of bugs there.
I've seen a couple areas replacing their street lighting with down-lighting
but most aren't, and billboards continue to have obnoxious up-lighting
and there's only one place in the entire city I've seen with low pressure sodium lights
and that's the post office
Hopefully because I'm out in the middle of Farmville Oregon and not downtown, I'll get a good show.
kpop appreciation station i also like to tweet some
but that's about it
I live in a city with hella light pollution.
I have never seen the Perseids, though I try every year.
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