# Meteor shower tonight ...



## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

For those romantics out there - tonight may give you the chance to sit outside with a glass of wine in hand gazing at the stars!  .... Im hoping that we get a good view from our apartment as we look directly out to sea - no building lights, town lights etc to detract from the dark skies! I presume those living inland will also get a good clear sky with little light distraction ? Would be ineresting to find out tomorrow if anyone managed to stay up long enough, or sober enough, to recount the experience!

Sue 


Stargazers prepare for Perseids meteor shower tonight
By: thinkSpain , Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Tonight, between 7.30pm and 10pm, will be the optimum time to see the annual spectacle of the 'Perseids' or 'Tears of Saint Lawrence', the chance to see over 200 shooting stars in one hour.

The Perseids are actually a prolific meteor shower, a phenomenon that occurs in the atmosphere several hundred kilometres above the earth, when tiny particles of dust from the Swift-Tuttle comet burn at high speed as they pass the sun.

The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14, peaking about August 12, when the earth passes through the tail dust of the comet, causing the dust to enter at high speed in the earth's atmosphere, making the particles shimmer like stars for a second.

The meteors can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere.

This year, Perseids should be even easier to see, because there will be little light from the moon, which is on the wane and won't come out until about midnight.

Groups of amateur astronomers all over the country have organised activities to observe the phenomenon and scientists say the best way see the meteor shower is to find a dark place, away from city lights, with a good view of the sky.

Some suggested locations are: beaches like las Salinas, in Roquetas de Mar (Almería), la Mata, in Torrevieja (Alicante), de la Fuente, in Vigo (Pontevedra) or Camposoto, in San Fernando (Cádiz).


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Suenneil said:


> For those romantics out there - tonight may give you the chance to sit outside with a glass of wine in hand gazing at the stars!  .... Im hoping that we get a good view from our apartment as we look directly out to sea - no building lights, town lights etc to detract from the dark skies! I presume those living inland will also get a good clear sky with little light distraction ? Would be ineresting to find out tomorrow if anyone managed to stay up long enough, or sober enough, to recount the experience!
> 
> Sue
> 
> ...


We went out to dinner, but got back about 10.30pm and my son, who was really excited by this, was out on a sunbed by the pool staring upwards (not too much light pollution there). He saw three or four shooting stars!!!!!

Jo xxx


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

jojo said:


> We went out to dinner, but got back about 10.30pm and my son, who was really excited by this, was out on a sunbed by the pool staring upwards (not too much light pollution there). He saw three or four shooting stars!!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Well I failed miserably in the "romantic" stakes! I met a girlfriend straight after work last night ... dont drink much at all usually .... but had 3 very large glasses of very nice white wine! wihch may not seem like a lot  but for me thats a real binge drink session!!!

Needless to say I fell asleep way before the skies went black and if there were any shooting stars across the Estepona skies I MISSED THEM !!


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Didn't see any Sue. The sky was a bit hazy here so had chance of seeing very little.


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Chica said:


> Didn't see any Sue. The sky was a bit hazy here so had chance of seeing very little.


Yes it was "hazy" around my eyesight too


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2009)

We were at a BBQ and the red haze from the red wine blocked our view!
Next time it will be a bottle of wine on the beach!


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## Buenosdiaspet (Feb 13, 2009)

Wish we were in Spain for this but not back for another 3 weeks! Rubbish English cloud meant nothing to see last night!


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## arthurdiane1960 (Aug 13, 2009)

hi

Oh what a shame I dug out the old telescope and I had my grandson around and was eagerly awaiting the meteor shower but there was no way of getting through those dark miserable clouds. Is there any chance of seeing it again tonight.

Arthur & Diane


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

arthurdiane1960 said:


> hi
> 
> Oh what a shame I dug out the old telescope and I had my grandson around and was eagerly awaiting the meteor shower but there was no way of getting through those dark miserable clouds. Is there any chance of seeing it again tonight.
> 
> Arthur & Diane


Sorry Arther, Diane .... I think that was supposed to be the best night to see it ... although I remember hearing on the radio that the "shower" happens over a period of days (nights) ..... so maybe there could be an outside chance ???

sue


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