Conor Mc Donald and Martin McKenna of Co.Derry took this lovely
picture of a Perseid meteor from near their home on Friday 11th
August. Conor and Martin wrote to us:
"We started our own watch last night
from 10:40pm and met up at 11. We walked in to the country and
picked a field with a lovely horizon. It was a very good night and
stayed mostly clear! We obsereved 30 meteors (martin will confirm)
some bright, some with two at the same time and others faint. I
managed to catch my first proper meteor going through ursa major
during a quiet spell. We finished at 3am due to clouds"
Please send your photos/memories/observations of
this year's Perseids to observe@astronomy.ie
Astronomy Ireland Press Notice August 9
Shooting Stars Galore This
Weekend
The best shooting star shower of the year is due to peak this
weekend. Astronomy Ireland is urging members of the general public
all over Ireland to go outdoors on Saturday night and watch the
natural celestial fireworks display.
"Up to 20 times more shooting stars than a normal night
are expected so instead of seeing one every 10 minutes there could
be one or more each minute" said David Moore, Chairman,
Astronomy Ireland.
Shooting stars are more correctly known as
"meteors". They are caused by the Earth crashing in to
tiny pieces of dust that have fallen off a comet long long ago.
The Earth collides with these pieces of dust at 100,000 mph and
when they hit the upper atmosphere at these speeds friction makes
them instantly burn up as a fiery streak popularly known as a
"shooting star".
"Bright meteors can be very spectacular, and in the past
we have seen Perseids so bright that they lit up the whole
landscape like a giant cosmic flash gun" Mr Moore said.
"We want everyone in Ireland to witness this amazing
natural spectacle on Saturday night" he said.
Information about the Perseid meteor show is available on
Astronomy Ireland's website www.astronomy.ie
and members of the public are urged to check it out for details of
how to see it at its best.
Perseids can be seen for up to several weeks either side of
this Saturday August 12 but there are less of them on the nights
before and after the August 12 peak.
However, some Perseids are expected to show up at the biggest
annual telescope viewing evening in Ireland on August 26 - called
"Star-B-Q" it is a barbecue under the stars aimed at the
general public who want to look through some of the most powerful
telescopes in Ireland at the wonders of the universe - more
details on www.astronomy.ie
