Seeing perseid meteors 2008 (perseids) from near London UK?

Question

Hiya,

we are not astronomers, but are thinking about trying to stay up all night and see some shooting stars this August.

What is the best time and date to see these in the UK - the night of Monday the 11th (and through til dawn) or the night of Tuesday the 12th (and through)?

also, what kind of rates might we see? we will have some binoculars (7x50s). If the night is clear, are we guaranteed to see a meteor or two?

one more thing - can anyone suggest a good location for it about 2 hrs drive max from east london?

rye sands?epping forest? is it better to be somewhere flat or hilly?

thanks for any help,

anthony

Answer 1

For a start, you will need to get well away from the light pollution from the city. Flat is good, but hilly is only good if you are on top of the hill.

Trust me, you won't need binoculars. And, if it's clear (always a problem in the UK - last year was a bit of a washout) you should see more than one or two.

This year, they will be visible from 23/7 to 22/8, but the peak (80 per hour) will be in the early hours of 12/8. Again, they co-incide with a full moon, which makes seeing the smaller ones difficult, but this sets just after 4am.

Look NE, and they should appear to come from below the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia. Once you've seen the first few, it is pretty apparent what direction they're coming in.

What you will be seeing are dust-sized fragments from the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle. Not quite stardust, but close.

It is one of the great spectacles of nature, and one which never fails to remind me that, whilst my place in the universe is small, I do have a place.