# Perseid Meteor Shower 2005



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

*Borealis2000News*
The 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower on August 11/12

_"The annual Perseid meteor shower never fails to provide an impressive display. During the peak of the shower, sky watchers at clear dark-sky viewing locations in the northern hemisphere are expected to see 60 to 80 meteors per hour. The best time to watch the Perseids will be on Friday morning between 1:00 and 5:00 am. The two hours after sunset on Thursday and Friday will also be a good time to spot bright slow-moving meteors (so called: Earthgrazers) that produce long and colorful tails. Unable to watch the shower before dawn on Friday? With peak rates over 40 Perseids per hour, Friday night and Saturday morning should be productive as well."_


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

good info!
Thanks


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Geez Doug, now I have to get up a half hour earlier tomorrow to catch the show!


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## CN (Sep 3, 2004)

Cool...60-80 meteors per hour should make for a good show


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

from the earliest birthday I can possibly remember my dad always took me out into the back garden to watch for 'shooting stars'.......and now I do it wit my wife and will sure to be doing it with my kid when he or she is old enough.

Yes....my birthday is tomorrow


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Too cloudy to see anything this morning. Drat!


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## miguelsanchez (Feb 1, 2005)

thanks for the reminder!

i'm pretty clueless when it comes to astronomy, and i've always had trouble picking out constellations. mars is easy to find though, and apparently it will also be visible from now until well past october, when it will be closest to earth.

does anyone have any tips for viewing the perseids in the toronto area? in what part of the sky should we be looking i.e. north, east, etc? relative to mars? does the direction change with time?

also, what is a good location in the gta to view them? i'm thinking north pickering, but i know a few good dark spots in the northern markham-ish area as well, well away from urban sprawl.

thanks in advance,

miguel


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## andrewenterprise (May 22, 2005)

I'll still be up, and watching the entertainment.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Looking good for tonight not so good tomorrow 

Nap time 










You won't get a good look unless you get well outside the GTA light pollution.

I try to get north and west of Brampton so the escarpment is a shield.

Near sunset today there may be some earth grazers which are spectacular - I saw a famous one out my kitchen window that went straight across the southern sky dripping green fire and was absolutely brilliant in the late day.
That was like once in a life time for that size, brilliance and colour. :clap:

For after midnight the meteors will appear straight up out of the zenith. So a blanket and pillow are good and let your eyes adjust for for a while with as little light as possible.


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

SINC said:


> Too cloudy to see anything this morning. Drat!


You're one day too early in any case SINC. Tonight, tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening are the best times (esp. if you are not surrounded by light pollution as we are in the GTA).


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## andrewenterprise (May 22, 2005)

MacDoc said:


> Looking good for tonight not so good tomorrow
> 
> Nap time
> 
> ...


I'm in the Kitchener/Waterloo area, and kind of on the outer part of town, so I should have a good view from this area. The one problem is that my property is covered with massive mature maple trees, so there is no way to see anything, unless I sit at the front of my driveway, so I will probably end up heading out to the country a little bit anyway.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

We've had very high cloud cover for the past while. Even though it's very thin and wispy, it could block the view. I hope it'll clear out...


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

_here I sit
so broken hearted

those high thin clouds
they never parted_


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## sketch (Sep 10, 2004)

_Rain Rain _ 
_go away_ 
_come again another day!_


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Cloud here too this morning.


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## Trose (Feb 17, 2005)

Just got back from camping on Hornby Island. Watched it from the beach Friday night when the sky was completely clear. Very impressive.


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## andrewenterprise (May 22, 2005)

Lucky. It was cloudy and rainy here


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

They're bacccccckkkkkkk....and a new moon for better viewing












> Meteor shower puts on weekend spectacular
> TENILLE BONOGUORE
> Globe and Mail Update
> August 9, 2007 at 1:49 PM EDT
> ...


globeandmail.com: Meteor shower puts on weekend spectacular


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## Digital_Gary (Sep 18, 2003)

I noticed last weekend there were tons of shooting stars. I was at a friends cottage on Lake Simcoe so there was a lot less light pollution.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Supposed to be a nice (cloud-free) Saturday & Sunday... hmm. Maybe I'll sit and watch, with my Nikon D50 in bulb mode on a tripod...


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

As I have done ever since I moved here to St.John's, I shall again look skyward. Growing up in New York City, air and light pollution were always detrimental factors to any nighttime sky viewing. Here in St.John's, fog is our main culprit, but this weekend promises to be filled with sunshine and clear skies. We shall see.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Nothing but clouds here for the next few days. One can only hope it clears on the weekend.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> Borealis2000News
> The 2007 Perseid Meteor Shower on August 12/13
> 
> The annual Perseid meteor shower never fails to provide an impressive display. Conditions are ideal this year because the shower peaks on the new-Moon night of Sunday–Monday, August 12–13, which means: No moonlight, dark skies and plenty of meteors! The best time to watch the Perseids will be on Monday morning between 1:00 and 5:00 am. During the peak of the shower, sky watchers at clear dark-sky viewing locations in the northern hemisphere are expected to see 80 to 100 meteors per hour. Between 9:00 and 10:00 pm on Sunday will also be a good time to spot bright slow-moving meteors (so called: Earthgrazers) that produce long and colorful tails.
> ...


Lucky me , got an invite to sail far out into Lake Ontario for a midnight viewing - I sure do hope it's clear.........oh and calm.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Clouding over later today with rain expected this evening. Drat.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Looks good for my lake adventure



> Wind light and variable increasing to southwest 10 to 15 knots this afternoon then veering to northwest 15 to 20 this evening. Isolated showers or thunderstorms developing this afternoon otherwise fair.
> Waves less than 1 metre building to near 1 this evening.
> Outlook..Moderate to strong northwesterlies veering to northerlies.


Northwesterlies are very good for clear skies. :clap: - should be good viewing.
A few afternoon thunderstorms/showers would make it even better as they get rid of the inversion haze.

After midnight is best....get your naps this aft.

I guess I'll have to take clear over calm. Keep my ginger pills handy.

•••

Dr. G you may be good after midnight



> Cloudy periods. 40 percent chance of showers early this evening. *Clearing overnight. *Wind southwest 20 km/h except gusting to 40 along parts of the coast this evening. Wind becoming light this evening. Low 11.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

"Dr. G you may be good after midnight." Was out last night and saw a few whisps, but not like the ones I once saw here years ago. That was amazing.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Looking very grim for Ontario just now


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Wow what a nice surprise - while my boat ride panned out the weather is sterling.

Peaks at 3 am for those intrepid sky watchers.

Oh my - pretty good










Yes that's THIS shower ( combined images ) photographed over 6 hours in 2004.

APOD: 2007 August 12 - Raining Perseids


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Well that was worth the price of admission :clap: Didn't make it to the peak but 10 decent meteors including one very memorable sparkler made for a fine late night adventure.

Nice accompaniment of tree frogs and a very active bat.

10 in an hour considering I had Toronto light pollution and a limited sky window certainly is a good shower.

Had one this bright and two others close to it.










Can't find a close approximation of the sparkler.
It came in and slowed abruptly with this wide sparkling tail dead centre in my field of view.

Two came in very close together - was falling asleep but wanted to get to double digits and after a long pause the tenth finally arrived - not too bright and off axis.

About like this










ahhh awake now - might as well stay up for the peak at 3 am - some reports call for 60 an hour.

Well 17 a nice spot to quit including another very nice broad tail even longer than the first one. THAT was a treat and again dead centre field of vision.

One odd one that came in extremely fast and curved at the end. All in all very satisfying. :clap:.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I was outside here in St.John's at just before 4AM. Not sure why I got up, but I took one of my doxies outside to see the lightshow. I was not disappointed. One flew horizontally by the constellation of Cassiopia and looked as if someone had shot off a Roman Candle from my roof top it was that bright and intense.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Exactly - roman candle - I had two like that - sparkling tails and broad path


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## Kazak (Jan 19, 2004)

I was camping at Harrison Hot Springs last night with very little light pollution. Probably saw 30+ between midnight and 1:30, including one that was the brightest and longest I've ever seen. Left a trail that was visible for several seconds.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Cool - 30 in 90 minutes nice count.
Certainly two I saw were long term "keepers".

Nothing will outdo my daytime green fireball earth grazer. That was a jaw dropper.
Have seen only one other coloured meteor but nowhere near the size. I thought one last night might have had a red edge.
Could not recall seeing one curve before.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

My best sighting was when my son was about 4, so that would have been August of 1990. It was clear, no fog and moonless, which really helps here in St.John's. I saw a blazing streak that was longer than I ever imagined. Last night's sighting came in as #2. #3 was when I was camping out in Rabbit Blanket Provincial Park outside of Wawa, ON back in 1970. That was an amazing display based on the numbers of meteors that flared in the course of an hour.


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## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

I was out last night with the camera doing some long exposures. I think I managed to catch one early on in the night but it was on the smaller side (still need to upload the photos, was too late last night). Saw a couple of monster fireballs and many smaller ones; about 25 in total over a two hour period.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

One thing good about looking to the northeast here in St.John's is that you are looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, no urban light pollution.


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