Meteor shower to peak on Wednesday night

Tony Tanti

Aug 12th 2009, 11:42

Perseid meteors are visible all night, though normally their numbers increase as dawn approaches. Unfortunately, this year the Moon will rise late in the night and its light will blot out the faint meteors. The Astronomical Society activity will be held at L-Ahrax tal-Mellieha, starting at 9 pm.

www.maltastro.org

S Keyes

Aug 12th 2009, 11:14

Whats the best time to see it and where would be the best place in Malta to witness it?

M. J. Brincat

Aug 11th 2009, 13:35

@Claire Galea
i think they are refering to american time zones

Philip Schembri

Aug 11th 2009, 13:13

Earth Final Conflict is on its way!!

jcmicallef

Aug 11th 2009, 13:10

@ncamilleri & my earlier post.

Oooops....I misread your post....'light pollution'....my apologies.

Yes, too much light pollution, and over at my village there's all those festa pylons with blue lights on top...you'd think we had multiple moons!

Cheers.

jcmicallef

Aug 11th 2009, 13:00

@ L Galea - thanks for the links

@ ncamilleri - i know what you mean, I had to move house because of the noise and air pollution

@ Miguel Micallef - perhaps not surprisingly, we at home are starting to enjoy things that we used to take 4 granted before...for me, watching TV is becoming a waste of time. So instead, I observe nature, and follow it up with research, as an alternative.

Life's more interesting that way.

Peace & love to all.

Tony Tanti

Aug 11th 2009, 10:05

Re. Claire Galea's question:
According to the International Meteor Organisation (www.imo.net) the usual maximum of the Perseids will occur around 8 p.m. local summer time on the evening of August 12. For Malta this is Wednesday-Thursday night. However, there are astronomers who are suggesting that the Earth may encounter a concentration of Perseids some hours before the normal maximum, around 11 a.m. local summer time on August 12. The closest night to this peak for Malta is Tuesday-Wednesday. In any case, both nights should be the best for Perseid watching this year.

ncamilleri

Aug 11th 2009, 06:31

@jcmicallef : It would be super if we could switch everything off for one night and head to the roof but unfortunately it won;t happen.
I would love to just grab my kids head to the roof and watch this spectacle, however I have too much light pollution surrounding our neighbourhood :(

Claire Galea

Aug 10th 2009, 23:10

Can someone please enlighten me? On the internet it says that this meteor shower will be on Tuesday-Wednesday night. Can someone please confirm which days are correct?

Galea. L

Aug 10th 2009, 22:49

jcmicallef
another couple of links for you
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10aug_horseflies.htm?list1097538
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm?list1097538

Galea. L

Aug 10th 2009, 22:10

p.s. also have a look at
http://spaceweather.com/

Galea. L

Aug 10th 2009, 22:08

jcmicallef
Sorry I cannot give you advise re telescopes, but I am sure the Astronomy Society of Malta will gladly help you.
Also have a look at http://www.nasa.gov/

Miguel Micallef

Aug 10th 2009, 20:09

@jcmicallef

Such natural events are still and will always be impressive, for those who know where to look to see such beauty :)

Maybe there's less people appreciating this with all the distractions, but that really doesn't make a difference to us that watch :D

jcmicallef

Aug 10th 2009, 17:49

Would it not be nice if we were all to switch off all the lights at home, TV's, laptops and street lights, head to our roofs and watch this free spectacle? And instead of running about with cars like mad(wo)men, we save some fuel...and give the environment a break? But unfortunately, nowadays natural events seem not to impress much. @ Galea L and anyone with good knowledge - have you any serious tips for someone who is considering to buy a telescope? Thanks. I've grown tired of the box around me, so I'll start looking 'out of the box' :-)

Joseph Schembri

Aug 10th 2009, 17:01

The people below who observed the green meteor might find it interesting to note that the green colour is usually an indication of the presence of the metal Nickel in the meteor. Had it reached the surface we'd call it a meteorite instead of a meteor.

k borg

Aug 10th 2009, 16:19

guys that might not be a bright shooting star but the International Space Station which at times can be seen in orbit. You can check out this link for the dates and times of sightings from malta.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=Malta

Galea. L

Aug 10th 2009, 13:35

edward bartolo
Usually they are not bigger than a grain of sand but sometimes a little bigger traveling at about 30,000 miles per hour. When they hit the atmosphere they are heated to about 3000 degrees F and normally evaporate. The fiery trail of ionized gas and is a very good reflector of radio signals which radio amateurs use to communicate with each other using very fast Morse code or SSB. The ionization lasts from less than a second to a few seconds. Most become visible when they are about 60 miles up and some large meteors splatter, causing a brighter flash called a fireball, and an explosion, which can often be heard up to 30 miles away. A very good shower normally produces about one meteorite per minute.
Have a look at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/08/06/11006/?nc=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_scatter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/109P/Swift-Tuttle

Richard Curmi

Aug 10th 2009, 13:34

The tears of St.Lawrence are an annual natural event. Its thirty years that I’ve been following this natural spectacle, however 1994 was one of the most years that I remember seeing hundreds in one night.

Andrew Sciberras

Aug 10th 2009, 12:58

personally i am looking forward to attend to this magnefecent natural show!!

Ray Gatt

Aug 10th 2009, 12:51

I live in Mellieha Heights and I saw one last night at about eleven. At first I thought it was a flare, but it did not stay for long. It was then I realized it was a meteor. It had a greenish colour and looking from my terrace, I saw it to my left in the Manikata direction.

S. Ferrito

Aug 10th 2009, 12:05

Yees even I saw a shooting star yesterday night..... and yes it seemed so close!! Really amazing!!! :)

Elaine Sultana

Aug 10th 2009, 11:33

I too confirm what Mr. Vella said. I was at Paradise Bay when I saw it and it was amazing. It looked very close to the earth and it was like a huge ball of green fire. It had a long travelling span as well because it lasted for quite some seconds before it faded. I think it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I never saw such a huge shooting star and the greenish tint made it look like something out of a sci-fi film. Amazing experience

Tony Tanti

Aug 10th 2009, 11:29

Re. Mr. Bartolo's question

Meteors are space particles that have either been left behind by comets, or broken off from asteroids. They are made of tiny bits of rocks or metal (commonly iron and nickel). Millions of these particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but most burn up before they reach the surface of the Earth. Sometimes, however, a large meteor does not completely burn, and what is left crashes to Earth.

One thing to note about this year’s Perseid meteors is that the gibbous moon will be in the sky, thus hampering observations. I didn’t see the bright meteor of August 5, but I know persons who did. From their description it seems that it was an early Perseid.

www.maltastro.org

Marco Spiteri

Aug 10th 2009, 11:07

Confirm what Ernest Vella said. We live next to Lija and we also saw the shooting star which we thought was fireworks but it originated from the sky and was seen above B'kara. Must have been around 10.30.

C.Camilleri

Aug 10th 2009, 10:58

Even Meee..I saw The Shooting Star..it seemd so clos to the earth ^^

jane deguara nee hughes

Aug 10th 2009, 10:53

yes i saw it, i live in mtarfa, not sure of the time but it was after 10.30 for sure

edward bartolo

Aug 10th 2009, 10:52

What is the size of these meteors and what is their composition?

Ernest Vella

Aug 10th 2009, 10:32

During the fireworks of the 5th of August by Lija Fireworks - a bright and clear shooting star was seen over Birkirkara from the fields beneath Imdina Road - it was near and the colour was blue/green - amazing - first we tought it was a fire work but the flame came from the sky - I for sure will find a place the watch the shooting stars