Hello all,
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The year's most popular meteor shower is about to peak! ?These past few nights, meteor activity is kicking into high gear, as Earth encounters more and more of the dust left behind by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. ?At the peak, the rates can exceed one meteor per minute under dark skies, well away from city lights.?
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The night of maximum activity this year will be the night of Sunday August 11 into the morning hours of Monday August 12. ?The exact peak time is expected to occur between 13-16 Universal Time (or 9am-12pm EDT) on August 12th. ?Although this occurs during daylight in Eastern North America, the Perseids have a relatively broad maximum with quite high rates of meteors several hours before and after the peak. ?In fact, secondary maximas are possible too well away from the main peak time, and these can be difficult to predict accurately. ?During the 2021 Perseids, a surprising outburst of meteors of Perseids, nearly twice as strong as the normal peak occurred on the morning of August 14. ?I was fortunate to witness and photograph that event with ideal sky conditions. ?At this time, the weather forecast isn't looking promising for the Sunday/Monday night in the Ottawa region, so I would strongly recommend observing a night or two before, or after. ?The Perseids will remain very active on those nights.
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The Perseids are popular because they occur during the mild summer nights, are easily seen by people at campgrounds and at cottages, are active on multiple nights and produce a high proportion of bright, colourful meteors.
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As always with meteor shower observing, getting away from city lights and into the countryside with an open horizon and no light sources will vastly improve the experience. ?No telescope is required — all you really need is a reclining lawn chair, a few blankets and then looking up with your eyes. ?Perseids are visible all night but the rates will be highest during the hours after midnight.
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This year, the Moon will be near First Quarter near the peak night. ?The good news is that the Moon will set early, leaving several hours of dark sky viewing, allowing more meteors to be seen. ?Here's the setting times (for Ottawa) for the next few nights...
- August 10: 10:40pm
- August 11: 11pm
- August 12: 11:26pm
- August 13: 11:59pm
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Weather outlook:
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A very useful weather forecasting took is the Clear Sky Chart, which is updated twice per day (noon and midnight) and shows how clear the sky is predicted to be in the coming nights. ?The darker blue "squares" = good clear skies.
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Night of Friday August 9/10: ?As the large weather system moves east late in the evening, the sky is expected to clear up quickly at about 2am EDT for Ottawa and at about 1am EDT for sites located west of the city. ?The sky transparency is expected to be very good once it clears. ?Due to all the recent rain, fields and grassy terrain may be very wet. ?But the sky clarity could make an outing worth it!
Night of Saturday August 10/11: ?We can expect quite a good clear night around Ottawa after 10 or 11pm. ? This might be the best opportunity to see Perseids this year!
Night of Sunday August 11/12: ?The peak night is looking poor at this time, with mostly cloudy skies. ?There is a possibility for holes (small openings) during the night, so a last minute outing is not out of the question.
Night of Monday August 12/13: ?This night should still be very active, and the forecast shows just a few residual evening clouds followed by very clear skies from 11pm onwards! ?I feel that this night is looking promising!
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The weather is also looking good for Tuesday night August 13/14 but that may change.
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Note that the weather can often change unexpectedly so these forecasts could change. ?It is best to review the latest model updates on the afternoon that you are planning to do an outing. ?The short term forecasts are more accurate (usually).
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More details...
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Here's an article on "Perseid meteor shower 2024: when, where and how to see it":
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Here's another excellent article on :Viewing the Perseid Meteor Shower in 2024":
Clear skies to all, and I encourage you to share your observations and images!
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- Pierre
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