Wheres a good place a little bit out of the way to park and go watch the meteor shower tonight? Assuming the weather is good, that is.

I thought it was the 12th... glad I saw this .. ugh, clouds!

Anywhere out in the open away from city lights.... Lake Arcadia? Thunderbird? Deer Creek?

"Generally no matter what time zone you live in, the best time to see this meteor shower is August 12, 2009 between midnight and dawn. Meteor showers are commonly thought to be events that occur at night, but in fact they are really morning events. Viewers can expect to see tons of meteors and in some cases up to 100 meteors per hour. The Perseids started July 17th and will be active until August 24th. You will be able to see meteors on any given night or morning, but as I stated for this shower the peak occurs Wednesday morning. Keep your head up!" - meteorblog.com

Which direction?

mainly in the east from what i've read. -M

Years ago, a friend of mine and I took Portland Ave. straight north until we reached some area of "no man's land" between Deer Creek and the Guthrie area. While it didn't allow the same views as, say, going down to Wichita State Park would, it was still pretty darned spectacular.

We found a little gravel road and were able to pull off onto it a ways. It lead into a little clearing area and we just set up our chairs outside the car and watched away.

Northeast sky. Unfortunately the moon will be a problem tonight....that is if the clouds get out of here in time.

I ususally end up going on our roof (around 3-4am) since I dont want to drive to the country at that time of night. A few years ago I went up there with a blanket and fell asleep on the roof only waking up when I started to roll down the slope. So dont do that.

Here a link on meteor showers and viewing the perseids. StarDate Online | 2009 Meteor Showers and Viewing Tips (http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/)

...and fell asleep on the roof only waking up when I started to roll down the slope. So dont do that.

LOL. Good advice.

I should have mentioned that I get on the roof for two reasons. One is because our entire yard except for over the house is tree covered. Two is because mosquitoes tend to stay within 6 feet of the ground. The rain last night will really bring them out and this time of they year they can be ficious. So if you can.....get up high.

Looks like it might just clear off for us tonight. Enjoy the show!!!

Okay, my 11 year old son and I just laid in the driveway in sleeping bags for about an hour tonight.. we saw about 2 shooting stars.... but we heard a few owls catching dinner, discussed the universe at length.. ie the Purpose of life, aliens, space travel, the speed of light, creation and other similar subjects.. all in all, it was a great meteor watching event and a great time with my son! .. looking forward to tomorrow night!

Karried, that sounds perfect!

I tried to watch the shower. I have a big soaker tub with a huge window facing the NE. I was all set with bubble bath, wine and everything, turned out the lights, let my eyes adjust, made the dog get out of the tub, etc. Then the clouds thickened up so I gave it up.

I know that can work because I've seen shooting stars there, before.

I was out about 2 for a few minutes and observed 2 good ones and a few more very brief ones. Just too much light here and too much moon and I am too old anymore to do this.

Okay, my 11 year old son and I just laid in the driveway in sleeping bags for about an hour tonight.. we saw about 2 shooting stars.... but we heard a few owls catching dinner, discussed the universe at length.. ie the Purpose of life, aliens, space travel, the speed of light, creation and other similar subjects. all in all, it was a great meteor watching event and a great time with my son! .. looking forward to tomorrow night!


Thats what its all about. I laid up on the roof again last night, first for about 20 minutes around 1:45 then for about 30 minutes around 3:15-3:45. I ended up seeing 9 meteors, (3 really good ones) and several I didnt count because I wasnt sure. Your eyes can play tricks with you after staring at the sky for awhile. It was pretty cool....the second time up I took a blanket and a pillow. (the roof is hard on your back and head) Lots of time to think about life and the universe, not tripping on an access vent or falling off the ladder going up and down, and what creature was climbing in the tree next to me. (heebie jeebies) And how tired Id be today......yawn.

Everytime I watch meteor showers I think of how small I am and how huge the universe is......it always makes my brain hurt trying to take it all in. lol. Next year the moon The Moon's Phase (http://www.briancasey.org/artifacts/astro/moon.cgi) will be just past the new moon by 3 days so it will be much darker, and what moon there is will be setting long before the show starts. I may plan a trip to Colorado next year at that time for maximum darkness.

On a side note I thought Id share this with you......I saw a story on the news recently and have been intrigued by it. It apperas that the star Betelgeuse is about to go supernova. If that happens in our lifetime it will be an awesome sight to witness. It would be brighter than several full moons and would be visible even in daylight. Luckily being some 600 light years from earth its to far away to do any damage when it blows. It may have already gone supernova and the light mat be speeding towards earth as we speak. I hope so.......

Betelgeuse, if placed in our solar system would reach beyond the orbit of Jupiter, engulfing the earth and the other inner planets. And we thought the sun was big. Just for a mind blowing comparision heres a couple of pics showing just how massive this star is.

http://startswithabang.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/sun_v_planets.jpg

In this comparision the sun is not even visible due to its small size.
http://www.funmint.com/images/planets/planet-size-pollux-sun-betelgeuse-antares.jpg

Feeling small yet? If not maybe this will help. Here is a pic of the sun next to VY Canis Majoris. The pic is so big Im putting it on a link so as not to stretch the page. The sun is the tiny white dot on the left. Enlarge the pic by left clicking the bottom right of the pic.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Sun_and_VY_Canis_Majoris.png

Okay, my 11 year old son and I just laid in the driveway in sleeping bags for about an hour tonight.. we saw about 2 shooting stars.... but we heard a few owls catching dinner, discussed the universe at length.. ie the Purpose of life, aliens, space travel, the speed of light, creation and other similar subjects.. all in all, it was a great meteor watching event and a great time with my son! .. looking forward to tomorrow night!

Karried,

Maybe you and your son might enjoy watching the movie, "The Nature of Being" with Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, Jr. I think it is also available under the title "Instinct." You may want to view it first for content.

Note: It has absolutely nothing to do with "meteors." I will now get :backtotop

I found this link to "listen" to the meteorites as they fly by. Its kinda spooky, almost like something from the movie "Signs". Dont bother listening to the intro....unless you wanna laugh at the guys voice. Click on the live meteor radar echos and wait for the pings. Space Weather Radio: News and information about sunspots, solar flares and meteor showers (http://spaceweatherradio.com/) You gotta be a real geek to enjoy this.

Im thinking about taking the puter out tonight and listening as well as watching. I read that the best shot at seeing earthgrazers (meteors with smoke trails) is shortly after dark so Ill be out around 9 tonight.....no more late nights this week for me

westsidesooner,

Cool link!

It's almost time! It's almost time!

Thanks for the reminder. Might have to take the dog for a walk!

I'm wondering if the biggest show was really early this morning... we only saw 2 at about Midnight .... crud.. maybe we missed it?

I was up late last night and they were coming down about one per minute or every other minute.