Post by stevie on Aug 8, 2010 18:54:39 GMT
The annual NIAAS Perseid meteor watch and barbecue will be held at Killylane on Friday August 13th, starting at around 9.30pm. With no Moon in the sky, this could be an especially good year.
The early weather forecasts are mixed, so we will have to wait until later in the week to see what conditions will be like. A final decision will be taken on the Friday, at around 6.00pm. Unless it is heavily overcast, or raining, we will probably go ahead, as the crack is always good.
If Friday looks bad, but Thursday night looks ok, we may have a session then. The absolute maximum activity, for observing purposes, is early in the morning of the 13th, if anyone feels up to it. Keep an eye on this thread for up-to-date reports.
As always, bring your own food and drink, cooking facilities will be provided.
There's no need to bring any equipment, as meteors are best seen with the naked eye, although no doubt, there will be a couple of telescopes set up for other viewing, especially Jupiter. Some people like to try and photograph the meteors, so feel free to try that if you wish.
Make sure to wrap up warm, and bring along a reclining chair or sun lounger for comfort if desired. There is always scientific interest in the shower, so if anyone wants to bring along pens and paper, or an electronic counter, to record their observations, feel free to do so.
Don't forget to have a look outside during this week, there are usually early meteors to be seen in the build up to to the main shower, Jonathan, Neil and I saw a few last night.
For more information on the Perseids meteor shower, and tips on how to identify Perseid meteors, see this link
www.astronomynow.com/AstronomyNow-TheNightSkyThisWeek.shtml
and for a short report by Phil on last years watch, click on the article at top left of the home page.
Hope to see you all there.
The early weather forecasts are mixed, so we will have to wait until later in the week to see what conditions will be like. A final decision will be taken on the Friday, at around 6.00pm. Unless it is heavily overcast, or raining, we will probably go ahead, as the crack is always good.
If Friday looks bad, but Thursday night looks ok, we may have a session then. The absolute maximum activity, for observing purposes, is early in the morning of the 13th, if anyone feels up to it. Keep an eye on this thread for up-to-date reports.
As always, bring your own food and drink, cooking facilities will be provided.
There's no need to bring any equipment, as meteors are best seen with the naked eye, although no doubt, there will be a couple of telescopes set up for other viewing, especially Jupiter. Some people like to try and photograph the meteors, so feel free to try that if you wish.
Make sure to wrap up warm, and bring along a reclining chair or sun lounger for comfort if desired. There is always scientific interest in the shower, so if anyone wants to bring along pens and paper, or an electronic counter, to record their observations, feel free to do so.
Don't forget to have a look outside during this week, there are usually early meteors to be seen in the build up to to the main shower, Jonathan, Neil and I saw a few last night.
For more information on the Perseids meteor shower, and tips on how to identify Perseid meteors, see this link
www.astronomynow.com/AstronomyNow-TheNightSkyThisWeek.shtml
and for a short report by Phil on last years watch, click on the article at top left of the home page.
Hope to see you all there.