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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Mars Joins The Perseid Meteor Shower For A Beautiful Display On August 12th.

The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th.

In the constellation Aries, right beside Perseus, Mars is shining like a bright red star. Step outside before sunrise, look east, and you'll find you have a hard time taking your eyes off Mars. There's something bewitching about it, maybe the red color or perhaps the fact that it doesn't twinkle like a true star. It's steady. You stare at Mars and it stares right back.

More here: www.physorg.com/news5428.html

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Gonna be a great meteor display this year!

[Maddad]

According to Stargate SG1, they only lasted about five minutes.

[Al Degutis]

After seeing this post, I had to check out where Mars was going to be in relation to the Perseid radiant. It'll be a scant 46 degrees south of the radiant, in the southeast, while the Perseid radiant will be in the northeast. Shortly before 2am Pleiades will rise in the east and between 3-4am CDT all three, Mars, Pleiades and the Perseids should be visible. I've updated my Perseid 2005 page to include a graphic showing their positions:

www.skyinsight.net/wiki/?title=Perseid_Meteor_Shower

What a great morning it will be.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Oh man...When the seven sisters start to show...winter is not far behind....

Sigh...