General Chat

Sky-watchers could be in for "fantastic views" over the next two days as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.

According to Nasa, the shower could produce a display of up to 80 meteors per hour.


Gwyn

I shall be out there tonight - although its a bit cloudy in NW Hampshire at the moment so not looking good.

I have sun lounger at the ready - so I don't get a crick in my neck from looking up!!

Grey cloud cover but Im sure we will get good views on TV coverage.

Teresa

Not looking too great here, very cloudy so probably will not see anything.but i think they will still be there tomorrow.

xx

Yes cloudy here too in denbighshire north wales
Hazelx

Won't be seeing them in Bronte country as it is piddling it down.

Maryb

cloudy here too, i might look out later if i remember lol x

i will be looking

i have some very special wishes to make

They were active last night aswell to the naked eye and better by scope.

wont be missing it cloud permitting got telescope all set up ready.

What time of night are we expecting to see it? We have blue sky and pink cloud here in Kettering!!!!! (at the moment)

anytime from dark,,just little ones here and there if youre looking in the right direction,but 10--30--11 ish should be at its peak,,,,,,it depends on what the atmospheric is like,eastwards maybe a good show,but they fly in from all angles....

Copied from online...

Meteor hunters should head west for the best view of this evening's Perseid meteor shower, according to weather forecasters.

The Perseids reach a peak of activity tonight and will be most visible in Britain at 11pm, in areas where the skies are dark and cloud free.

Astronomers are expecting a dazzling light show with more than 60 shooting stars zipping across the sky every hour. The bright streaks are caused by tiny particles of debris from a comet burning up in the Earth's atmosphere at 135,000mph.

Much of the cloud hanging over the country will break up this evening, but a low pressure system over the North Sea is expected to push a fresh band of cloud over eastern regions, the Met Office said.

"Somewhere well-sheltered from the northerly wind and in a western part of the country is the most likely place for the cloud to break," a Met Office spokeswoman said. "Further east, there is a chance you'll end up with showers and cloud blocking the view from time to time."

The clearest skies are expected over the coasts of Dorset and south Wales and eastern parts of Devon. The south-eastern regions of Northern Ireland, and Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland are also expected to have cloud-free skies.

British astronomers are collecting tweets from meteor-spotters, which will be turned into a map showing where the most shooting stars are being seen around the world.

Sky seems to be clearing a bit here now.

I can clearly see a plane going over, so am hopeful of seeing the 'shower'.

Gwyn

nothing to report in the Boro

Have seen a few on the Norfolk coast - just went outside for 10 mins. One was really big and bright, the others I would have missed if I hadn't been to specsavers!!
t's a lovely clear sky at the moment, so I will probably go for another look before I go to bed.

Sky cleared quite well here.
Soooo many planes going across though.

Just saw my first shooting star of the evening.... from NNW to SE roughly.

I'm near the Channel coast.

Gwyn

Dear All

Hello

Hope you are all okay.

Awww, nothing to report here, either.

Very disappointing.

Take gentle care
Very best wishes
xx

Getting more cloudy towards the north, but just saw another 'star' shoot across in a completely different direction, - roughly East north east to west south west.

Wish grandson was here as he'd be willing to go for a walk to a darker spot. Our street lights are rather too efficient and a prowling cat? keeps activating a neighbour's security light..

Might watch out of the roof skylight a bit more though before sleeping.

Gwyn

Still daylight here but will look later. ;)

I think I've only seen a shooting star once, a few years ago in a suburban backyard. I'm downtown and there's too much light interference to see much here. Didn't see any northern lights last week, dang. Did see them once here, 30 years ago at 2 a.m. in mid-February, just ran across them by accident as I was coming home from work, then had a perfect view from the upstairs back deck. Green and purple and like visual organ music moving across the sky.

This is a handy site for upcoming sky events:

http://spaceweather.com/

Janey
I'd love to see the Northern Lights.
What an amazing experience.


Any one watching tonight?
Weather is grim here at the moment, so I'm glad I looked out last night.


Gwyn