Eta Aquarid - Meteor Shower

gaa_ian (Ian) · #1 02-05-2005, 11:18 PM

For the Meteor shower buffs out there

The Eta Aquriads peak this Thus & Fri Morning (4 am is best observing time).
ZHR should be about 30/Hr.
If you have never made the effort to take in a meteor shower, it can be worth while.
Recomendations: Warm Clothes, Thermos of Coffee, reclining chair of some sort.
I have done this several time's (Not just for the leonids) & it has been an awsome experience in some cases.(noteably the perseids in Aug)
See this link for more detailed Info on the Eta Aquarid's + more !
http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors...quaridobs.html

Sounder · #2 03-05-2005, 12:09 AM

Thanks for the heads up. I'll definately be up for that, but unfortunately it looks like cloudy skies here in Ceduna for the rest of the week.

toetoe (Peter) · #3 03-05-2005, 02:10 PM

As i have not seen a meteor shower before, i have a dumb question:
is this naked eye viewing or do you need binocs.

acropolite (Phil) · #4 03-05-2005, 02:53 PM

You were born with all the gear you need....except for the meteor.. shower coat.....

gaa_ian (Ian) · #5 03-05-2005, 04:11 PM

As Acropolite said, all you need is the naked eye.
Laying on a picnic mat or in a reclining chair, with your feet in the direction of the radiant is the way to go.
I prefer some nice hot brewed coffee (for early morning showers)
or a good glass or Red, a nice cheese platter & some relaxing music (for evening showers).
You may get lucky once in a lifetime & see a meteor storm, with thousands of meteors/ hr.

gbeal · #6 03-05-2005, 06:10 PM

Heck,
you Ozzies are a cultured lot, a coffee, or better still red/cheese platter. Good plan though, and something I will impliment next time.

Dave47tuc (David) · #7 03-05-2005, 06:35 PM

This is a very good Meteor shower

The Eta's are the first ones I counted a plotted for the IMO.

I don't do that anymore

But meteor observing is great fun. Looks like lots of cloud for me this year

slice of heaven · #8 03-05-2005, 08:08 PM

Dont forget the potbelly to keep warm and roast the marshmallows.
Looks like being clouded out here too.

Anybody that hasn't seen a meteor storm should really make the effort to view one. Extremely worthwhile.

Watched the Leonids a few years back with the 2 oldest kids and it has stuck in their minds since. Sitting around the potbelly with hot choky and marshmallows at 3am watching the meteors was a treat. Even saw 3-4 fireballs that night.

Slice

iceman (Mike) · #9 04-05-2005, 05:53 AM

I've been getting up each morning this week to try and image Mercury, and see if I can spot the Aquarids, but cloudy every morning so far.

Will try again tomorrow.

toetoe (Peter) · #10 04-05-2005, 07:34 AM

I was up this morning at 3.50am (dogs wanted to wee) light cloud cover over Albury/Wodonga, no good for seeing anything.

robin · #11 04-05-2005, 05:32 PM

If its clear, what is the best option for photographing a meteor shower.???

1. an EQ mounted scope & piggy backed camera with ,say, a 20mm lens & camera set to 800iso with 30sec-1 min exp or more....

or 2. a good old fashioned DSLR on a tripod, 800iso with 30sec-1 min exposures?

gaa_ian (Ian) · #12 04-05-2005, 08:41 PM

I'm no astro photographer .. but I do know that meteor showers like this one do come in bursts & cover a wide swathe of the sky (90 to 120deg)
So I imagine some sort of wide angle lens, perhaps even a fish eye,on a tracking mount, might be needed to capture a decent number of meteors in an image.
Exposure time ...as long as possible !

robin · #13 04-05-2005, 08:52 PM

Thanks Ian.Nice warm nite here but the wind is starting to kick up & a change is on the way so mother nature is in control down here tonite! I'm considering a 20mm f.2.8 lens...

gaa_ian (Ian) · #14 04-05-2005, 10:45 PM

Sounds good Robin ..... I dont think there is a lot I can tell you about photography though !
I have had a look at your gallery, there are some excellent shots there, particully the moon/Jupiter occultation.
Have you had some of these published in the astro mags ?

MiG · #15 04-05-2005, 10:56 PM

I'm going to try photographing with 35 mm fl and 15 sec exposures (single lens digicam). Unfortunately I can't turn off the dark frames so I'm only going to get a sub 50% duty cycle.

Vermin (Tom) · #16 04-05-2005, 11:50 PM

Grrrrrr....

MiG · #17 05-05-2005, 04:08 AM

Yeah, grr. I didn't check the sky condition until I went outside at 3:15.
Very annoyed. Stayed outside for 50 minutes and only saw 1 meteor. What a waste of time.

iceman (Mike) · #18 05-05-2005, 07:49 AM

doh I was outside at 4:45am this morning but forgot to look for the aquarids, was too busy staring at the laptop screen imaging Mars and Mercury.

Sounder · #19 05-05-2005, 08:05 AM

No good here either. Got up at 4am but it was complete cloud cover. It looks like tomorrow willl be the same.

scott · #20 05-05-2005, 10:03 AM

Hi all, I am scott - newbie from mornington Victoria, I was up from 2am little cloud cover but no meteors. 7 year old son wants full refund. Is Friday morning liklely to be a dud too?