When you sit back to watch the Perseid meteor shower, you're actually seeing pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 kilometers) per second, according to NASA. The Perseids result from Earth passing through debris (bits of ice and rock) left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle.
Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered independently by two astronomers, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, in 1862. Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed near Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126.
In 2024 the Perseid meteor shower was active between 17 July and 24 August, with the number of meteors (also known as shooting stars) increasing every night until it reached its peak, after which it then tailed off. This year the peak was on the night of the 12th and before dawn on 13 August when Earth travelled through the densest and dustiest part of this debris.
So not wanting to miss this annual meteor shower several CMHASD members met at the Pavilion on the night of the 10th/11th August to watch the Perseid meteor shower (The night of the 12th/13th was not chosen simply because of members work commitments on the morning of the 13th). Members stayed at the pavilion for around 3 1/2 hours (9.30pm to 1am) and during that time around 17 visual sightings were spotted by members.
Below are some photos taken by member Honor Wheeler of the meteors she caught on camera that night, with another member helping her out by pointing to the 1st meteor that was spotted!
It was a very good night, not too cold, great company and lots of banter & chit chat amongst members. Some members even took the opportunity to do some deep sky imaging too.
There's one........
Camera settings: Canon M6II, Rokinon 14mm lens, ISO1000, f/2.8, exposure between 4sec and 10sec.
Plus; while we were busy watching the meteors at the pavilion the meteor camera was busy too and below is a summary of the meteors the camera picked up on the night of the 10th/11th Aug 2024 which you can download.
Perseids Night of 10-11 August 2024 (1)
For more information about the Perseid Meteor Shower check out https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/perseid-meteor-shower-guide-uk-when-where-to-see
