Observation Log 8/12/06: The Perseid Meteor Shower


Between the 11th, 12th, and tonight (the 13th) I'll probably have 6 hours of observing time. Each time out, thanks to the nearly-full moon, I see only the brightest meteors. Even so, I've seen on average 3 per hour, and I've enjoyed each one. My favorites are the meteors with the sparkly golden tails that linger a few seconds. About 1/3 of my sightings have been like that, with the rest divided between bright blue/white, quick-moving meteors, and the rest a mix of yellowish meteors with no tail to speak of. Even with the relative paucity of events, it's been fun.

To my delight and surprise, Jan joined me for an hour last night. She brought out my green pointing laser so I could show her a passing polar-orbit satellite, a few constellations, and talk about the circumpolar constellations and the Summer triangle.

Posted: Sun - August 13, 2006 at 09:23 PM             |

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