NASA Predicts A Good Year For Perseids

xCepheus writes "According to this article on NASA's website, the year 2004 will be a good one for the annual meteor shower known as the Perseids. Quoth the article, 'This is a good year for Perseids, for two reasons, explains Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. First, the Moon is new in mid-August; moonlight won't spoil the show. Second, in addition to the usual shower on August 12th, there might be an extra surge of meteors on August 11th caused by a filament of dust newly drifting across Earth's orbit.'"

I've always wanted to see this

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in the los angeles area and it is pretty tough to even see 5 meteors during the apex of a meteor shower. Maybe it will be somewhat easier this year because of the lack of moonlight.

After this, does anyone know when the next meteor shower will pass by? An astronomy hobbyist would love to know.

Re:I've always wanted to see this

[barakn]

Many of these will be disappointing, but here's a list of late July and August showers showing name, activity period, maximum date, from this source [namnmeteors.org]:

Pisces Austrinids Jul 15-Aug 10 Jul 27

Southern delta-Aquarids Jul 12-Aug 19 Jul 27

alpha-Capricornids Jul 03-Aug 15 Jul 29

Southern iota-Aquarids Jul 25-Aug 15 Aug 04

Northern delta-Aquarids Jul 15-Aug 25 Aug 08

Perseids Jul 17-Aug 24 Aug 12

kappa-Cygnids Aug 03-Aug 25 Aug 17

Northern iota-Aquarids Aug 11-Aug 31 Aug 19

alpha-Aurigids Aug 25-Sep 08 Aug 31

This page [homestead.com] has tips for viewing the better showers.

My meteor shower story

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember once, when I was young (last year) a girl I've had a few classes with called me up and asked if I'd like to watch the Perseids with her. I, of course, replied that I would be greatly pleased to do so (I tend to talk funny when girls call me, it's the novelty of the situation).

So, the day she quoted me showed up and we went to one of the local parks with decent protection from the lights of the city. She laid out a blanket, and we lay down looking up at the stars. I stared upwards for the longest time, and saw nothing. Eventually, I realized that our conversation had turned from physics to weird, unfamiliar things, like child rearing and clothes (by the way, the correct response is "No, my mommy does not purchase my clothing, I'm merely trying to fool people into believing I'm a nice young man.)
After this continued onwards for a while, I came to the conclusion that I was being hit on. As I mentioned above, this was a relatively unfamiliar situation. Eventually, I tried to put the moves on (by the way, the correct procedure is not to grab, then ask.)

After being abandoned in the middle of a wheat field, I began my long walk home. I was probably within a half dozen miles of my dorm room when a metallic object passed by my arm and clanged off a rock, embedding itself in the pressurized ink pen in my left shirt pocket (made by the fine folks of the Fisher Space Pen Co.) spraying ink and polyester tatters all over my body. As I dropped to the ground, clutching my burning nipple, I screamed something about the "space aliens finding me and are taking their revenge for my bab5 fanfic."

A few minutes later I woke up to an irate (slingshot bearing) farmer, accusing me of "stealing his beans" and "taking liberties" with his daughter. And I didn't even get to see any meteors.

The show had better be better this year, or I'm just going to stay at home.

Re:My meteor shower story

[QEDog]

Wow. This post verges on the Offtopic and Troll, but not quite there. And it is actually quite interesting.

Re:My meteor shower story

[RedCard]

You had me fooled until you got to the metallic object and space pen.

A few years ago, my girlfriend at the time and I went for a walk in the arboreteum at my university. We climbed up onto the roof of one of the buildings, and lay back to watch the meteors.

The shower had just started, the girl had just de-topped, and we'd just started kissing when one of the Kampus Kops climbed the ladder and found us. He was cool - but he kicked us out of the arboreteum (after getting a good look at my girlfriend's rack, of course).

Let me guess how NASA came to realize that...

[Maxite]

A space craft that they were launching was struck by a Perseid meteor and exploded or went zooming off into space, but in the wrong direction.

Lunar Eclipe more interesting than meteor showers?

[xmas2003]

Jeeez ... 8 hours after posting the article ... and *5* comments ... I guess /. just isn't too interested in meteor showers?!?

For those that are interested in space stuff, I have some nifty Lunar Eclipse Pictures [komar.org] from last year and some Colorado Aurora Borealis [komar.org] ... but sorry, nothing as cute/funny as the "farmer story" above from AC ;-)

Re:Lunar Eclipe more interesting than meteor showe

[xCepheus]

Ya, my grammar terrible. Thanks for fixing all, my mistakes Timothy?

POP go the meteors?

[PhilHibbs]

If you live in a quiet area, then please listen out for a pop about 11 seconds after each streak. About 20 years ago, we had just returned from holiday in the small hours of the morining of the Perseid shower. We all heard a distinct sound, as of distant gunfire, 11 seconds after each meteor. We wrote to Patrick Moore, and he insisted that there could be no such sound, yet we heard it clearly and reliably.

Post back here if you hear it.

Re:POP go the meteors?

[paz5]

Although not a pop, you could hear a hissing sound. There was a /. artical about it quite a while back (that i could not find) but here [cornell.edu] are [pivot.net] a [space.com] few [findarticles.com] that talk about hearing a hiss as the meteor is going through the atmosphere. There is also a method using reflected radio signals [k5kj.net] to hear a meteor, though that requires equipment and not just your ears.

Re:POP go the meteors?

[PhilHibbs]

No, I've heard about that one before, but there was definitely a time delay. I think it was 11 seconds, but it was quite a long time ago so I misremembering (it may have been, for instance, 7 seconds, but it was of that order of magnitude).

I'll see NASA's meteor prediction...

[bill_mcgonigle]

and raise them a meteorology prediction:

It's going to be raining here on August 12th.