Geminid Meteor Shower this Saturday - 12/13

[Tom Rankin]

Another Astronomical Target.

The best strategy for capturing meteors on 'film' is a long exposure (1-3 minutes) with the camera on a tripod, using a wide angle lens. Aim above the radiant. I've had modest success with this over the years.

The longer you expose, the longer your star streaks will be, unless you are using some sort of tracking device.

 

[Grumpy]

Tom, what is the "radiant"?

G.

 

[adktyler]

Will we be able to see this out here in Western NY?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Tom, what is the "radiant"?

G.

The position where the shower appears to be coming from. In this case, the top of the constellation Gemini.

Tyler: The Moon will be bright, but if it's clear, check out the link above.

 

[el-bagr]

The Geminids' radiant appears to be near the star Castor in Gemini. I think of Gemini as being above and slightly left of Orion's upraised arm (his right arm, the one not holding the bow). Castor is the star at the head of one of the twins -- a pair of lines about as long as Orion is tall, leading away and angled left from Orion if he were standing upright.

 

[Grumpy]

Thanks for the answer, and the link.

G.

 

[adktyler]

The position where the shower appears to be coming from. In this case, the top of the constellation Gemini.

Tyler: The Moon will be bright, but if it's clear, check out the link above.

Ok, thanks. I don't know if the weather will continue through until Saturday, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I saw 4 meteors last night during 20 minutes or so. I shielded my eyes from the Moon. Of the 4 I saw, one was brighter than Jupiter, one the brightness of Sirius, and the other 2 were little poofs. I suspect the Moon significantly interfered with seeing dimmer meteors.

 

[Rob S]

I went outside around 6pm, and finally saw one after 15 or 20 minutes. Our home is situated at the base of a 200 foot hill, so the moon didn't actually "rise" until after 8pm. Therefore, when I went out again around 9pm, I didn't expect to see many. I was pleasantly surprised to see 6 or 7 over the next half hour, one of which was very bright and had a greenish color. Thanks Tom for letting us know about this.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I went outside around 6pm, and finally saw one after 15 or 20 minutes. Our home is situated at the base of a 200 foot hill, so the moon didn't actually "rise" until after 8pm. Therefore, when I went out again around 9pm, I didn't expect to see many. I was pleasantly surprised to see 6 or 7 over the next half hour, one of which was very bright and had a greenish color. Thanks Tom for letting us know about this.

6 PM is a little early, as the radiant has only just risen at this time. Even though that was the theoretical maximum this year, the low angle would interfere with viewing locally.

The ultimate time to view a meteor shower would be when the radiant is at the zenith (straight up), it's well after sundown (or before sun rise), and the shower peaks at the same time. Unfortunately, no shower ever hits the zenith around here.

 

[Tom Rankin]

2009: Got up, but saw mostly clouds, and gave up!