its meteor time

The Perseids, one of the year's better meteor showers, will be taking
place over the next few days and 2004 offers an excellent opportunity
to view the Perseids.

The Perseids, one of the most famous showers, will peak during the
pre-dawn hours of August 13th, but some may be spotted now through
August 22nd. The Perseids have a peak rate of 65 - 70 meteors per
hour.

This year the Moon is being very cooperative and will not interfere
with this year's display. In the northern hemisphere the radiant of
this shower rises in the Northeast in the early evening. While some
may be seen as early as 10 PM your local time, the shower rates
increase considerably after midnight.

Perseid meteors are caused by the orbital debris left by comet Swift-
Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle was discovered in 1862 and it has an orbital
period of about 130 years. It last visited our solar system during
the summer of 1992.

Observers in Europe and Asia, may be treated to meteors from a recent
dust filament crossing the Earth's orbit. This "recent" filament was
left by comet Swift-Tuttle during its 1862 pass through our solar
system. These meteors will likely be fairly faint, but if you can
observe from dark skies., you may we rewarded with views of hundreds
of meteors. If you're in Europe or Asia, you can try to observe these
around 2100 UT on August 11th.

Those of us in North America can observe during the hours before dawn
on August 12th. You can observe anytime after midnight in your local
time and the best views will be between 2:00 AM your time and when
the sky brightens at dawn.

To view the Perseids, generally view toward the northeast, but
remember Perseids can and will appear anywhere in your skies. So
while the northeast is preferred, view upward toward the darkest,
least obstructed portion of your sky. Find something comfortable to
sit or lie upon in an area away from skyglow of urban areas if
possible. Don't forget to dress appropriately and if you live in a
hot, humid area as I do, you may want to have some insect repellant
handy. :)

Unfortunately for southern hemisphere observers, the Perseids are not
favored for viewing in your area as the radiant will not rise above
your horizon. However it may be possible to observe a few
earthgrazers rising from below your northern horizon as dawn
approaches.

[Slamd097]

wow..posted that in the wrong place..lol spiders....

What I was actually trying to say before I had my airhead moment....My family has a telescope of and a "map of the stars!" that we pull out everyonce in a while. It kind of humbles you and reminds you just how smallwe all really are...but some specs are bigger then others!...

[Philiagorillia]

I use to watch them every year and hook up my digital video camera to my telescope and record some of it, i use to do that during some of the other showers as well but i needed money so i had to sell the telescope, i'll get another one someday...