Comments for Meteor Showers

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Meteor

Meteor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:42:52 +0000

Sandy,

It could be worth money. Authenticate it and sell it.

- Meteor Mark

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Sandy August

Sandy August — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:24:52 +0000

I believe I found a meteor fragment. I get home at 4:30 am and heard what sounded like a piece of metel hitting the sidewalk or something. I really didn’t look for it. The next day I found a strange rock like thing. It will fit inside your fist. It is metal like as a magnet will stick onto it. It has a spine type edge and is a rusty brown color. I brought it to work and our engineer said that it a piece of a meteor. Kinda cool, really.

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Meteor

Meteor — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:00:32 +0000

Amanda,

No you won’t see a lot of Perseids right now. ZHR stands for Zenith Hourly Rate which can be vary and the highest ZHR usually occurs during the peak.

Keep your head up.

- Meter Mark

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:28:36 +0000

Hello! If the ZHR for the Perseids is 100, does that apply to the peak only? I was hoping to go out tonight to see it before it ends… do you think it will still be very active?

Thanks

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Meteor

Meteor — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:14:43 +0000

Randy,

Please review the page on this site: Meteor Shower Viewing. To the best of my knowledge, one viewing from India should look to the East. Keep in mind the Perseids is not as strong as it was on August 12th.

Keep your head up.

- Meteor Mark

Comment on Meteor Shower Still Active by Randy

Randy — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:04:06 +0000

im from portage indiana (NW) which direction should i look when looking for them (n,w,e,s) and about what time?

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Meteor

Meteor — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 02:15:46 +0000

Chuck,

You’re spot on about the color of Perseids, they are predominately yellowish and orangey. As you mentioned it does have to do with the chemical makeup. Please read this article: Meteor Colors

Next we’ll answer two questions in one: You generally will see meteors all over the sky streaking in different directions, however their backward path should trace back to the shower’s radiant. Meteoroids follow different orbits and collide with Earth at different angles and the paths and speeds of comets and asteroids that cause meteor showers vary from object to object. Think of it like two cars passing each other on the highway. If they are heading in different directions on the highway, the car passing you on the other side of the road will appear to move really fast. If the car is on the same side of the road as you and passes you it will appear to be moving slower. The Earth orbits the sun at approximately 67,000 mph and also rotates as well. The calculation for determining the speed of the Earth’s rotation is pretty simple even though it involves multiplying latitude by cosine etc. etc., but I don’t really want to get into it here. Having said that, the Earth’s rotation affects the brightness of meteors when they enter the atmosphere and this is why I recommend viewing after midnight into dawn because the meteors tend to be brighter because the Earth is turning into the meteoroid stream as well as orbiting the Sun.

Thanks for the questions and your enthusiasm. I’ll probably use this reply as a whole new post at some point when meteor showers are inactive. Between now and October I will need a good post or two because September is usually pretty dull.

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark
P.S. Definitely a bummer not seeing any during the peak!

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Chuck Prime

Chuck Prime — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:35:22 +0000

Hey Mark. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the shower you’ve been educating us about.
After I posted, I went outside maybe 10 minutes and saw one more, a very brief one moving almost directly west. All the others then and since, real and uncertain, have been almost directly southbound.
Then last night I thought I saw a couple very brief and faint ones. There was one definite, and it’s path was easily 4-5 fist widths at arm’s length. I think it left a smoke trail, but couldn’t be sure in all this light pollution.
They all seem very pale yellowish and maybe some green – but I’m in light pollution AND a bit red/green colorblind. They’re certainly not pure white, and I didn’t notice any blue. I guess the color tells you what they’re made of.
Why are they so fast, and why do the ones I saw move almost directly south? Does Swift-Tuttle orbit perpendicular to the solar plane, and at some 140k mph? I haven’t yet found a helpful article online, and I don’t know how to read an “iqea” orbital chart.

PR1ME

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Meteor

Meteor — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 06:17:53 +0000

Maria,

You can review comment #22 that I made to Krupp.

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Maria

Maria — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:39:19 +0000

Will we be able to something tonight or yeah tonight friday night going into saturday morning? we live in south texas. yesterday was awesome we saw maybe around 20 in an hour and a half. wondering if tonight might be the same. please let us know. thanks.

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Meteor

Meteor — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:44:53 +0000

Cherie,

Fireballs are uncommon for the Perseids and are rare to begin with. If you had plotted a point from where they seemed to originate you would notice they would seem to come from Perseus. There are more meteor showers later in the year, so keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Cherie Renfrow Starry

Cherie Renfrow Starry — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:56:38 +0000

I viewed the Perseid Meteor Shower from my deck on Puget Sound just north of Seattle. What a show! I had thought that meteors would be coming from the same direction, but I realized early in my viewing (1:30 am PDT) that they streaked in every imaginable direction and with great speed. While I did not see a “fireball” as those in Iowa saw, I was awed by the number of smaller “streaks” that reminded me of the shooting stars my father used to tell me about when I was growing up in Indiana. It also made me realize that we are only one tiny part of the larger scheme of the universe. I can’t wait for next year’s showers!

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Meteor

Meteor — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:04:12 +0000

Krupp,

Thank you! The Perseids will be active until August 24th. So you ill be able to see meteors Friday night into Saturday morning, however the shower has passed prime viewing conditions.

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark
P.S. If you’ve enjoyed the blog, please consider buying me a cup of coffee.

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Krupp

Krupp — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:59:27 +0000

This site is awesome! Thanks! I was out last night and it was my first experience seeing a shower! It was great. Will it continue into tonight of is Perseids away till next year? Thanks!!

Comment on Perseids Meteor Shower – Two Days to Amaze by Meteor

Meteor — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:05:57 +0000

PR1ME,

You’re welcome and thank you for the comment. Of course your information matters! That’s why I do the site! Perseids move at 140,000+ mph and but lack the brilliant fireballs. They do however have great “smoke trails” known as persistent trains. The Southern Aquariids were also very active during this shower and to see 5 to 6 meteors in 10 minutes is really great. Do you recall the colors?

I saw none it was raining here in New England!

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark