AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

THE PERSEIDS RETURN:

Tomorrow evening (or for that matter just before dawn today- August 12) will be the optimum time for viewing what is usually the most spectacular meteor shower of the year- the Perseids. The estimated time of the peak (these things are never exact) is at about 15:00 Universal Time tomorrow afternoon. This translates into a Winnipeg time of 10:00 am. Fear not and do not despair. The Perseid meteor shower is actually quite a long drawn out affair,and an excess of meteors may be observed from July 23 to August 22. The Winnipeg branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada actually plans to hold their Perseid viewing gathering next Sunday, August 15, out at Bird's Hill Park, just northeast of the city. The view of meteors is, of course, best seen at a dark location outside of a city, such as Bird's Hill Park. Just as a fyi, however, the Astronomical Society will apparently have their telescopes out, for public education, at the Italian Pavilion down on Wilkes Ave. during this week of Folklorama. Telescopes are of no use for viewing meteors, but those interested can gain an appreciation of the hobby from members who will be present there. The occasion, Italy wise, is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope. Would that we could celebrate a centenary of the end of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the Holy Inquisition) who condemned Galileo, but that institution still exists today.

Sunset tomorrow here in Winnipeg is at 8:52 pm, and Moonrise (the Moon interferes with good viewing of meteors) is at 10:52 pm. For those in locations outside of the Central Time Zone please consult the Time and Date website to convert the time of the Perseid peak (and Sunset and Moonrise) to your local time. According to said website the weather conditions here in Winnipeg for tomorrow evening will be "partially cloudy". The Environment Canada site predicts "a few clouds for tomorrow evening. One of the best sites, the Clear Dark Sky site, says that the sky will be basically clear until Midnight, with clouds in the wee hours of Thursday, but clearing about 4:00am. The Clear Dark Sky site is actually one of the best sites to consult because it contains far more parameters than just cloud cover. It is also the site for readers anywhere on the North American continent because it will give viewing conditions for hundreds of sites elsewhere on this continent. So...if you don't live in the centre of the universe known as Winnipeg consult this site to see whether your viewing conditions for the Perseids will be good, bad or indifferent.

By the way, Molly has blogged extensively on the Perseid meteor shower before. If I fail to repost items from previous years (which might happen because of my schedule) try searching "Perseids" on this blog for much more information of this event.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

PRAIRIE METEOR SHOW:

Residents of Alberta and Saskatchewan were treated to a brilliant meteor show around 5:30 local time as a bright fireball was sighted as far apart as Edmonton and Regina. The photos here are from Edmonton. Here's the story from the Regina Leader Post. More to follow tomorrow.

.........................

Meteor lights up Saskatchewan sky:
Kerry Benjoe and Lana Haight,

Saskatchewan News Network

Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
REGINA -- A flash in the sky has many people in Western Canada asking questions.

According the RCMP in Lloydminster, a meteor fell from the northern skies at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. It was visible from Edmonton, east from Lloydminister and into Saskatchewan and as far south as the Regina area.

Some residents in Wilcox can only describe what they saw as 'very pretty.'




George Faris said he was driving home west of Wilcox on Highway 39.

"It was a nice bright green colour. It looked like it was northwest of Wilcox. It was right around 6:25 -- I looked at my watch," said Faris. "It looked like it hit the ground."

He said the sighting was fast and estimated that it lasted between five to seven seconds.

"I thought someone had set off a firework and then I realized, 'No because it was coming out of the sky,' " said Faris.

Angie Roian was cleaning up the table after supper when she saw the tail-end of the meteor.
"I looked out my kitchen window and I saw it coming down. It was the coolest thing," said Roian.

Like Faris, she thought someone had set off a firework but soon realized it wasn't because it was going in the wrong direction.

"It was just like a streak and it looked like there were sparkles in it when it came down," said Roian.

Other areas of the province saw a much brighter version of the meteor.

"It lit up the yard almost like midday, but just for an instant," said Bruce Trapp, who farms near Harris, about 70 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

"It was far brighter than any lightning strike I've ever seen."

In some places, the fireball, which streaked across the province and beyond at around 6:30 p.m., appeared white. In other places, it was flash of rainbow colours.

"It seemed like fireworks or a missile coming down. The sky lit up greenish and yellow," said Shawn Mitchler, who was pumping gas at Family Confectionery on Highway 16 at Radisson, about 60 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

He estimates the light show lasted five to 10 seconds.

"My heart just started racing because I didn't know what it was."

Mitchler wasn't alone. The RCMP emergency dispatch centre in Regina received 9-1-1 calls from people wondering what was going on.

"We got lots and lots of calls from all over the province -- from one end of the province to the other. Cut Knife to Fort Qu'Appelle," said one dispatcher.
© Canwest News Service 2008

LUNAR ECLIPSE AUGUST 28TH:

WHAT MOLLY SAW:

Last night didn't get off to a good start. The alarm failed to go off at 3:45 like I (thought) I set it to. Goddamn 5:00 AM !! Curse, swear, run. At least I caught the Moon during totality, and the cloud cover drifting in from the west didn't get too bad until close to 6:00 AM. "Close to" I say. Molly and mornings don't get along well together. I zipped out the door with only the thought of grabbing a jacket. Damned if I remembered to take my watch(see a planned post coming up soon-Why I Hate My Watch), let alone the binoculars. My usual morning "wake-up" is what I call 'nuclear coffee'. This consists of a heaping TABLESPOON of instant coffee, along with three heaping TABLESPOONS of sugar lightly nuked for 1 and 1/2 minutes in the microwave. Bolt it down and I can think again before the crack of noon. No chance to do this last morning.

The run was actually worth it. My own estimate of the Moon on the Danjon scale was somewhere between L2 and L3. There was some haze or high cloud in the air that obscured viewing to some degree so I can't be too sure of this estimate. The Moon appeared to be a dark red colour, but I have to give allowance for the viewing conditions. The left (east) rim of the Moon seemed to have more of a glow than it should given the theoretical stage of the eclipse.

What was really interesting was that at "about" 5:35 AM (see above for the Molly watch story) a meteor passed above the Moon (about 1 degree) moving from southwest to northwest. It was actually quite bright and slow moving. Only a few seconds later there was a bright flash from the rim of the upper left quadrant of the Moon (northwest in Lunar directions). Obviously they weren't the same meteor, but the coincidence says that I was quite privileged. It'll be interesting to see if anyone else observed what I did. Once more I have no exact time for this sighting. It was when the Moon was about 10 degrees above the horizon by the "fist method". that's all that I can say.

By the way to Stephanie from Ontario...the next lunar eclipse will be on February 21st of next year. Don't feel too bad about being a "beginner". Amateur astronomy is not a competition. Molly is very much of a beginner herself, and she won't be finding any new comets soon (or ever ?). If you want a table for the next few lunar (and solar) eclipses up to 2010 go to the NASA page at http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html . I'll try and answer your comment on the page that it was posted to as well.

What did others see ?