Meteor Shower on the 12th of August

Cheesy

some fucker
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What the fuck is a meteor shower?

So in space, there's all sorts of particles of debris floating around. When these particles are drawn in by Earth's gravity and enter the atmosphere, they rapidly decelerate and disintegrate. Depending on the size of the particle, this will produce a visible streak of light in the sky which we know as "shooting stars," or meteors. When this activity increases in occurrence, it's referred to as a "meteor shower." Meteor showers are caused by comets, whose trails of dust strike the path of Earth's orbit. The meteor shower that's coming up, known as The Perseids, is thanks to the comet Swift-Tuttle, whose stream of debris passes over the Earth every August.

So about this meteor shower.

The Perseids owe their name to the constellation from which they appear to radiate, Perseus. They're one of the most reliable showers of the year, and the meteor shower this year should be quite spectacular because of the Moon, which will only be visible as a crescent, and below the horizon in some places, offering a perfect, dark backdrop for which to view the shower. The light reflected from the Moon usually outshines the dimmer meteors, so it won't interfere nearly as much as other years thanks to its current phase. Mind you, the shower won't only be visible on the 12th. In fact, you could go outside right now and stare at the sky if you wanted to, and if you waited enough you'd probably see at least one. However, this shower peaks in intensity on the 12th, and the peak is pretty steep.

For this particular shower, the peak of visible meteors will be 142 per hour. Of course, this is the absolute peak, so the number will likely be far less, but could still be upwards of 100 per hour. (Normally, this rate is only in single digits, at most 10 per hour) But who knows? Something spectacular and unexpected could happen, with an hourly rate of 144,000 meteors or more, like in the case of the Leonids of 1966.

Where the fuck can I see this thing?

From your backyard, hopefully. If you can make out all the stars of the Big Dipper from where you are, you should be able to see the brighter meteors, but fainter ones won't be as visible. If you can make out all the stars of the Little Dipper, you're in a prime location to watch the shower. I'm pretty sure that the shower can be viewed worldwide, correct me if I'm wrong.

How do you expect me to know the constellations?

There's a free program called Stellarium, which is really quite awesome. It shows a dynamic view of the sky, and allows you to put in your own location and time to represent the correct positioning of the sky for your area. You can enable constellations and the like so you can make out which area of the sky you should be looking at. Keep in mind that meteors will be visible across the sky, but will radiate from the constellation Perseus.

Why should I care?

Fuck you, meteors are AWESOME.

And if you get lucky, you could see a bolide. That's one of these motherfuckers.

Bolide.jpg


Nothing more than a really spectacular meteor, which can have visible effects including sparks, color, smoke trails, and exploding into bits. Quite fantastic to watch, I've only seen one in my life.

So get out there on the 12th, find a hammock or a comfy reclining chair, and watch the fucking sky. You won't regret it.
 

FireCat

Oh Shi.. Don't wake the tiger!
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So get out there on the 12th, find a hammock or a comfy reclining chair, and watch the fucking sky. You won't regret it.
What we do.. If there be heavy clouds in the sky?
We can't Just blow clouds away. lol
 

esb

Because none of us are as cruel as all of us.
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I'm sure this guy isn't looking forward to it. :p
 
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