Its the Perseids meteor shower tonight and the skies are clear! If you've never seen a meteor let alone a shower give it a whirl, pop outside and look up. Best way to view them is to lie down and take in a wide field of view as even with the high rates of some years it can be a strain on your neck looking skywards for a prolonged time. I usually take a few blankets and a duvet out and lay on the lawn with the kids - they love it and its the comfiest way to view and stay warm I find. And you don't need a telescope or binoculars: your naked eyes are the best way to view meteor showers. [For the nerds the Perseids are the result of the earth passing through the remnants of a comet, Swift-Tuttle which happens around the same time anually. The extended nature of the debris from the comet tail means the shower happens over a few days but the peak activity occurs on one night] Good info here: Perseid Meteor Shower – Perseids 2013
NE apparently, but it doesn't really matter where you look, according to the website, so long as it's dark.
Yep, don't look directly at the origin (radiant), just keep a wide field in view and scan. They'll be most prevelent quite far away from it (I can't remember exactly maybe 45˚ from the radiant). Its surprising how much you can pick up from your periferal vision. Persius is near Casiopea - the W shaped constellation which is in the milky way.
Too muchlight pollution round my way!... Would love to see it though... Got some great shots of the Milky Way last year in Tenerife...
Sorry to hear its raining Ducbird. Even with light pollution you'll still see some of the brighter ones Radihead Just saw the ISS, extremely bright. I've got my camera set up taking 15 sec exposure sequences and an 18mm lens so hope to have caught it.
4 or 5 bright ones with smokey trails that lingered. One very bright slow mover near the horizon. Clear sky but hazy so light pollution has limited the hit rate. Better years to come I hope. Well done for spotting the ISS Mr C - spotted it twice and did get it on camera, amazing to think there are people up there who've just orbited the entire planet while I lay in my garden watching. Couple of nice counter orbiting satalites did a dance to keep me entertained. So many up there now.
