BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Perseids 2014 are here - look up!

There are lots of pictures of this year's Perseid meteor shower, but this short timelapse video is really something. It shows 25 Perseid meteors, noctilucent clouds, a faint aurora, airglow, satellites passing over and lightning. Wow!

Perseid meteors - timelapse from Sweden

I was thinking that it was about time I wound up the thread on this year's Perseids, but I couldn't resist sharing this fabulous picture. Babak Tafreshi, a great astrophotographer with The World at Night, took it at a World Heritage Site in central Greece.

Have a look here. It really is stunning. Perseids at Meteora

Connie, were you able to see any Perseids this year? I actually did. For the first time the sky was clear. Unfortunately, I was too tired, after a long day traveling (train 2 hours late) to watch for long. But I saw quite a lot in the half hour I managed.

The Perseid meteor shower has already started. Rates of 20 per hour and some fireballs are already being reported. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning (August 12/13) is the expected peak, but although it gradually tapers off, it continues for a few weeks after that.

Bright moonlight will cut down on the numbers you can see, but there's still a good chance of seeing something in an otherwise clear sky away from artificial light pollution.

You can read more more about the Perseids.

Spaceweather.com says that nearly a hundred Perseid fireballs have already been reported over the USA.

They also suggest that you look "during the hours after sunset when the Moon is still hanging low in the sky and the constellation Perseus is rising in the northeast. [This] can produce . . . an earthgrazer. Earthgrazers emerge from the horizon and skim the top of the atmosphere above the observer, a bit like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond. An hour's watching might net no more than one or two of this special kind of meteor, but . . . earthgrazers are colorful and gracefully slow, a rare beauty that makes any meteor-watch worthwhile."

I've never seen a Perseid earthgrazer, but I once saw a Taurid that just seem to amble across the sky. Fantastic. Usually I find that a meteor is something about which someone says "Look" and it's gone before you roll your eyes in that direction!

Google has put up a delightful animated doodle to celebrate the Perseids. Look out for them tonight if you get a clear sky. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning is the predicted peak, but they're already active.

The Perseids are still strong and the moonlight doesn't wash out the fireballs. Fireballs are a common feature of the Perseids. In fact, the moonlight made them more dramatic this year. A fireball is a very bright meteor and it leaves a trail - the trail shows up beautifully in the moonlight. Here is a picture of a Perseid fireball taken two days ago.