Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 12, 2004 5:51:08 GMT -6
A Great Perseid Display for 2004...
As evening settled, the prospect of any meteor spotting looked dismal, as a heavy fall-like blanket of clouds covered the skies above. But in the far west, the clouds had a break in them, and was heading toward the city of Chicago. So, in the meantime, I had dinner and watched that new release movie with Johnny Depp, whose title escapes me now. (Quite an interesting twist in the movie.)
At around 12:00 midnight I peeked out and saw that the skies were getting clearer. So Starrysungazer and I set up to watch this years Perseid meteor shower...and we certainly were not disappointed.
The temperature was in the lower 50's, crisp and bracing. The sky was clear, transparent and deep. A great many stars were visible and the show began.
Almost immediately, a streak of yellow came from the north and caught us by surprise, and it was only a sample to come. Another shot from Cassiopeia leaving a smoke trail and very bright. Some seemed to be fighting the direction of flow and flew "into" the radius streams. But most meteors came from the Cassiopeia area and headed toward the south.
I scanned the skies with 10x50's binoculars and from time to time would catch many smaller and dimmer meteors in the eyepieces. On one occasion - a very bright orange-yellow meteor was caught in the binoculars with smoke trail. Quite a spectacular sight!
More dimmer ones made their presence known...high over head, low toward the horizon, some heading straight down, some long lasting, but most short in duration. Once in a while a great bright one would shoot on by. One in particular was a very bright white/blueish meteor, long duration, with a very long and visible smoke trail. I managed to track the smoke trail for quite some time after the meteor incinerated. That one was the highlight of the evening.
Now about 2:00 AM, the skies were still clear and The Pleiades were now raising and always a treat in optical instruments. The meteors were still shooting, but now with less frequency. Around 2:45 I caught the first glimpse of the crescent moon and Venus in close proximity to each other. A fantastic sight! The Moon with a Earth shine clearly illuminating the dark side and Venus displaying half-phase in binoculars. A short time later Saturn joined in on the fun as did Orion. Satellites glided amongst the falling stars, and the clouds kept their distance to the south, at times threatening to enter our arena, but never fully did, allowing for the best Perseid shower I have ever seen.
At our pleasure on this great night were:
- The Perseid Meteors
- Saturn
- Venus
- The Crescent Moon
- Orion
- Satellites
- The Pleiades
- Cassiopeia
- The Summer Triangle and Cygnus
I didn't bring my telescope along, kinda wished I did, as I was spotting various DSO's with the binoculars, but I can save that for another night. The Perseid's have my attention for now. The skies were now starting to hint at the coming dawn and the Perseid Meteor shower observation session for 2004 was over. I wish I could have taken some images, but I did not have my camera. The Moon/Venus paring against the turquoise sky was incredible!
It was a fantastic and pristine night for a Chicago astronomical event. Despite the ever present specter of unwanted light pollution, the Chicago skies offered plenty to catch and enjoy.
One of the best Observations Sessions I have ever had without a telescope at hand, and one I will remember.
