i'm hoping for the clouds to get out of here...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/
Dan Vergano, USA TODAY 12:09 p.m. EDT August 9, 2013
Look, up in the air! The year's best meteor shower returns for its August shooting star show, courtesy of a cloud of comet dust smacking into the Earth.
Put out the lawn chair, set the alarm and maybe bring something to wet your whistle while you gaze into the nighttime sky — the year's best shooting star show has started.
August's annual Perseids meteor shower peaks Sunday and Monday, promising perhaps 70 meteors an hour those evenings.
"The Perseids are the good ones," says meteorite expert Bill Cooke of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The Perseids take their name from their apparent origin in the constellation Perseus, the hero of ancient Greek myth born from a shower of heavenly gold. Known for producing fireballs that might streak across a third of the sky, they owe their brilliance to the speed — nearly 134,000 mph — with which they smack into the upper atmosphere. "It's also because of the size of the meteors," Cooke says. The dust grains are about one-fifth of an inch across and burn nicely as they zip overhead.
Those dust grains come courtesy of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which circles the sun once every 133 years and leaves behind a debris trail. (Comets are basically dirty snowballs that develop tails when they approach the sun and start to melt. Different ones are responsible for other regular meteor showers, such as April's Lyrids, brought by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, and November's Leonids brought by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.)
You will have to stay up late to see the Perseids at their peak; the best viewing comes from midnight to dawn, particularly after the half-full moon sets at 1 a.m. on Monday, says Astronomy magazine's Michael Bakich. But they should appear at night during the week before and after the peak as well.
"Get out of the city and the lights to give yourself a chance to see them," Bakich says. The rule of thumb is that you should be able to see all the stars of the Big Dipper — seven stars if you are counting — to give yourself enough darkness to catch the shooting stars. And give your eyes an hour to adjust.
ok took the gravity chairs out and sat and watched the sky for some hours last night
the clouds came and went
the sky is not the black backgroud we used to have
sigh
hubby came back from his meeting and witnessed this with me
so i wasn't imagining it..or we both were
but the sky would actually look like it was a wave on the ocean
as a light would charge across the sky
it wasn't lightning or fireworks nearby
some were stronger than others
only saw one meteor go pff
were any of you out looking skyward? as did anyone else see this?
I am not exactly sure of where your Home 20 is Sky, but I can contest that the Solar maximum is really affecting our upper atmosphere , this is what I would think to be aurora being affected by Intensified solar winds and CME's , this would also explain the "Wave Effect" you have mentioned.
Strange how you really didn't see any activity though, even with Aurora you should have been able to see more than one or two meteor's, then again, if you are watching through Light polluted area, you can be blinded from such amazing displays of our cosmos.
Happy meteor Watching, and you may want to try using low mag. binocular's, see if anything crosses your field of vision that way. The best way is to get out of town, and go to a dark none light polluted area.. ;)
1WW
1ww
i am in the boonies of western pa and have only begun to get a tiny amount of light pollution bleeding in from the city stuff..
have the good binocs..no help thur clouds...and that was the obstruction not auroras or cme's
it's been years since we have had a clear sky at night..they are very rare anymore
chem trials or just plain old clouds (?) start around 9/10 pm and close off the night sky
last night at 10 i thought we had a shot at seeing the perseids..but the clouds kept blowing thur ..then slightly clearing - enough to keep hope alinve..then closing in again
finally around 3 we just gave up and came into the house
but the light wave thing.. it may be happening a lot or never.. i don't know because i have almost given up seeing a clear sky anymore and i seldom sit out late and watch the skies anymore
ok mystery solved
as hubby was reading the paper he says.. here this is what we were seeing last night
even though it is a good 35 (road) miles away..the reprecussions of these fireworks were like bombs going off and even though we couldn't hear them.. we could see the results
as air disturbance..which as a war vet he says happens..
i said why didn't you figure that out last night..and i get a smile
sigh...men!
take a look at the size of some of these things..yikes
(http://i72.servimg.com/u/f72/13/55/53/83/pgi20f10.jpg)
2013 Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) Convention
https://www.visitbutlercounty.com/events/4000/2013-pyrotechnics-guild-international-pgi-convention
Convention Site:
Cooper's Lake - Main Gate address is 205 Currie Rd., Slippery Rock, PA 16057.
About Cooper's Lake:
600 acre family-friendly and 6th generation family-owned facility in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. The venue is located in Worth Township off I-79, Exit 99 with access off Route 422 and off Route 19.
Convention Theme:
Boom and a Blast
Show Descriptions: Not sure which night to buy tickets for? Every show offers something unique you won't want to miss! Read about each show below and don't forget to check out each night's live musical entertainment below:
Sunday, August 11, 2013 – 8:30 PM:
Kicks off with the National Anthem, PGI Style! It's a red, white, and blue extravaganza! Patriotic, colorful, and loud!
As seen on the Discovery Channel Series, "Dirty Jobs," Albert Knoblach's Little Big Shots will delight crowds with locally-made shells exploding into balls of fire in the sky.
"The First Family of Fireworks," Zambelli Fireworks of New Castle, PA will present a world class display based on 120-years of pyrotechnic skill and artistry.
Finally, see one-of-a-kind, hand-made fireworks at the PGI Competition.
.............................................................
http://triblive.com/news/butler/4501279-74/fireworks-butler-county#axzz2blU6Jbpm
http://triblive.com/news/butler/4410028-74/fireworks-creagan-guild#axzz2blU6Jbpm