General Chat

Better call it a moon lounger!!

Gwyneth Don't forget the sun lounger... and good luck

August is fantastic for seeing shooting stars. When visiting our caravan I can often be seen lying prostrate in the centre of the field on a garden recliner looking to the heaven's.Also the amont of junk that can be seen in the sky is unbelieveable. Trouble is if I get tooooooo cosy I have a habit of nodding off. Lynn

Thank you for that, Crista and Bob. There is some cloud about, - but not too much. I'm hopeful. I'll look in all directions to be sure of seeing whatever is possible!

From BBC News Perseids set for sky show Skywatchers are preparing for the annual Perseid meteor shower, which should peak in the early hours (0200 BST, 0100 GMT) of Wednesday 13 August. The "stars" are moving at 60 km/s This year, Perseid observers are in for an added treat because a very bright planet, Mars, is also in sight. "In a good, dark sky, you can expect to see up to 80 meteors per hour," said Robin Scagell, of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy, "but this includes fainter ones." He cautioned, however, that "because the Moon will be close to full, you'll not see as many meteors this year." Comet debris Meteors are streaks of light in the sky caused by blazing pieces of dust drawn into the Earth's atmosphere from near space. The meteor particles, many no bigger than sand grains, come from comets which have passed through the inner Solar System. On their journey around the Sun, the comets evaporate and leave behind a trail of gas and dust. When the Earth ploughs through a comet's old trajectory, this dusty debris burns up in our atmosphere to form shooting stars. The Perseid meteors owe their origin to Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last moved through the inner Solar System 11 years ago. These shooting stars cross the sky at 60 kilometres a second. Red invasion The planet Mars is a major feature in the night sky at the moment. The orbits of Earth and the Red Planet are rapidly converging, and on 27 August they will be at their closest for 59,619 years. The two bodies will be just 55,758,006 kilometres apart (measured centre to centre). "Mars will be visible with the naked eye," said John McFarland from the Armagh Observatory. "It should be the brightest object in the sky apart from the Moon." At 0100 GMT on Wednesday, Mars and the Moon will be very close to each other in the sky. UK observers should look south. To get the best view of the Perseids, the skywatcher will ideally pick a place in the countryside as far away from scattered light pollution as possible. "The best time to watch the shower is after midnight," McFarland said. "But it would be good to watch as soon as it gets dark. One never knows; one might be in for a surprise." It is always a good idea to make sure you have a comfortable way of viewing the sky - gazing upwards for long periods can cause neck strain. A garden lounger is one option. A telescope or binoculars are not needed. The Perseid meteor shower is also known as the "Tears of St Lawrence" since the peak of the shower occurs around the anniversary of his martyrdom in AD 258.

I saw some this morning watching the Perseids. You need to look NE and just below Cassiopeia, the sideways W. This link shows you where. http://news.bbc*co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3548960.stm Crista

Gwyneth, No, I don't know which way to look, but perhaps somebody else can let us know. Sylvia

Any particular direction we should look? I think it was towards the south east once before.Same again? I've promised to wake my grandson if there is a decent show.

Deb, Maybe we have clearer skies than you at the moment. I saw some lovely pictures on our tv. Apparently July and August are the months to see these shooting stars. I looked last night but saw nothing.

If you do see a shooting star, it's meant to be lucky and you should wish on it. I've only ever seen one once, wished on it and my wish came true. Jo.

I,m glad someone can see the sky at night ,never mind watching for shooting stars,all iv,e seen this last week is shooting rain and more clouds.I do a bit of stargazing myself ,but at this rate i will be watching for the Christmas star,on the tree and the only Comet will be the store up the road.Fred.

We saw one on Saturday night / Sunday morning when we were returning from a Wedding. Well my husband said it was but I was a little more sober than him - LOL! Lynne

Paul, I know, and so was my answer, supposed to be humorous!! Sylvia

it's called a sense of humour Sylvia

paul...LOL ! E x

Paul, If you read my thread properly you would have seen that I said "at night". Sylvia

"This is the time to see shooting stars" 3.30pm ?

If you look at the sky at night this is now the time to see shooting stars. Apparently there are a lot of them at the moment.