Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 13, 2007 19:08:33 GMT -6
Viewing session of the 2007 Perseids from Chicago
I called Chicago Astronomer Steve for a brief early session to see if we could catch some meteor trails at around 9:30 pm. We met by the old Meigs field airport since the Adler area street parking was closed from a concert earlier.
Not a bad location with a field before us where the landing strip used to be and dark sky after that. Steve brought along his wife Margie, Beatriz and her Mom - two of their neighbors.
We sat down facing east and soon after Steve and I caught sight of a huge horizontal fireball over the lake. Lasting only a second, it was quite bright and fluorescent. Steve thought perhaps it might have been a man-made piece of space junk...but I think it was a Perseid.
We watched for about an hour without much luck, although I did catch one while everyone was talking and not looking up.
The skies were a bit murky and high clouds obscured much of the sky, but we could see Vega and the summer triangle overhead and Cassiopeia readily.
Steve and party left about 10:30 pm, but I decided to remain some more. It was quiet, crickets were chirping and it gave my the opportunity to try and catch some meteors on camera.
I got comfortable and used the trunk of the Chevelle to block out most of the direct street lighting. Worked well.
I was not able to capture any meteors this night, but my friend in Utah has mentioned that Friday was the night to observe the meteor stream. More on that in another post.
It was a pleasant evening and the final count for me was four meteors.