Posted on by David Dickinson

Watch for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Weekend

The Southern Delta Aquarid radiant, looking southeast at 2AM local from latitude 30 degrees north on the morning of July 30th. (Created by the author in Starry Night).

The meteor shower drought ends this weekend.

The northern summer hemisphere meteor season is almost upon us. In a few weeks’ time, the Perseids — the “Old Faithful” of meteor showers — will be gracing night skies worldwide.

But the Perseids have an “opening act”- a meteor shower optimized for southern hemisphere skies known as the Delta Aquarids.

This year offers a mixed bag for this shower. The Delta Aquarids are expected to peak on July 30th and we should start seeing some action from this shower starting this weekend.

The Moon, however, also reaches Last Quarter phase the day before the expected peak of the Delta Aquarids this year on July 29th at 1:43PM EDT/17:43 Universal Time (UT). This will diminish the visibility of all but the brightest meteors in the early morning hours of July 30th.

A cluster of meteor shower radiants also lies nearby. The Eta Aquarids emanate from a point near the asterism known as the “Water Jar” in the constellation Aquarius around May 5th. Another nearby but weaker shower known as the Alpha Capricornids are also currently active, with a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) approaching the average hourly sporadic rate of 5. And speaking of which, the antihelion point, another source of sporadic meteors, is nearby in late July as well in eastern Capricornus.

The Delta Aquarids are caused by remnants of Comet 96P/Machholz colliding with Earth’s atmosphere. The short period comet was only discovered in 1986 by amateur astronomer Donald Machholz. Prior to this, the source of the Delta Aquarids was a mystery.

The Delta Aquarids have a moderate atmospheric entry velocity (for a meteor shower, that is) around an average of 41 kilometres a second. They also have one of the lowest r values of a major shower at 3.2, meaning that they produce a disproportionately higher number of fainter meteors, although occasional brighter fireballs are also associated with this shower.

Image of an early confirmed Delta Aquarid captured by the UK Fireball Network (@ on Twitter) captured by their Ash Vale North camera.
Image of an early confirmed Delta Aquarid by the UK Meteor Network (@UKMeteorNetwork on Twitter) captured by their Ash Vale North camera on July 17th, 2013. (Credit: Richard Kacerek & United Kingdom Meteor Observation Network, used with permission).

The Delta Aquarids are also one the very few showers with a southern hemisphere radiant. It’s somewhat of a mystery as to why meteor showers seem to favor the northern hemisphere. Of the 18 major annual meteor showers, only four occur below the ecliptic plane and three (the Alpha Capricornids, and the Eta and Delta Aquarids) approach the Earth from south of the equator. A statistical fluke, or just the product of the current epoch?

In fact, the Delta Aquarids have the most southern radiant of any major shower, with a radiant located just north of the bright star Fomalhaut in the constellation Piscis Austrinus near Right Ascension 339 degrees and Declination -17 degrees.  Researchers have even broken this shower down into two distinct northern and southern radiants, although it’s the southern radiant that is the more active during the July season.

Together, this loose grouping of meteor shower radiants in the vicinity is known as the Aquarid-Capricornid complex.  The Delta Aquarids are active from July 14th to August 18th, and unlike most showers, have a very broad peak. This is why you’ll see sites often quote the maximum for the shower at anywhere from July 28th to the 31st. In fact, you may just catch a stray Delta Aquarid while on vigil for the Perseids in a few weeks!

The shower was first identified by astronomer G.L. Tupman, who plotted 65 meteors associated with the stream in 1870. Observations of the Delta Aquarids were an off-and-on affair throughout the early 20th century, with many charts erroneously listing them as the “Beta Piscids”. The separate northern and southern radiants weren’t even untangled until 1950. The advent of radio astronomy made more refined observations of the Delta Aquarids possible. In 1949, Canadian astronomer D.W.R. McKinley based out of Ottawa, Canada identified both streams and pinned down the 41 km per second velocity that’s still quoted for the shower today.

Further radio studies of the shower were carried out at Jodrell Bank in the early 1950’s, and the shower gave strong returns in the early 1970’s for southern hemisphere observers even with the Moon above the horizon, with ZHRs approaching 40. The best return for the Southern Delta Aquarids in recent times is listed by the International Meteor Organization as a ZHR of about 40 on the morning of July 28th, 2009.

A study of the Delta Aquarids in 1963 by Fred Whipple and S.E. Hamid reveal striking similarities between the Delta Aquarids and the January Quadrantids & daytime Arietid stream active in June. They note that the orbital parameters of the streams were similar about 1,400 years ago, and the paths are thought to have diverged due to perturbations from the planet Jupiter.

Observing the Delta Aquarids can serve as a great “dry run” for the Perseids in a few weeks. You don’t need any specialized gear, simply find a dark site, block the Moon behind a building or hill, and watch.

Photographing meteors is similar to doing long exposures of star trails. Simply aim your tripod mounted DSLR camera at a section of sky and take a series of time exposures about 1-3 minutes long to reveal meteor streaks. Images of Delta Aquarids seem elusive, almost to the point of being mythical. An internet search turns up more blurry pictures of guys in ape suits purporting to be Bigfoot than Delta Aquarid images… perhaps we can document the “legendary Delta Aquarids” this year?

– Read more of the fascinating history of the Delta Aquarids here.

– Seen a meteor? Be sure to tweet it to #Meteorwatch.

– The IMO wants your meteor counts and observations!

 

Posted on by Bob King

Observing Alert: Rare Meteor Shower May ‘Outburst’ on June 11

The rare and rarely heard of meteor shower called the Gamma Delphinids will appear to radiate from the constellation Delphinus (del-FINE-us) the Dolphin high in the southern sky shortly before dawn tomorrow morning June 11. This map shows the sky facing south at 3:30 a.m. local time. Delphinus is near the bottom of the bright 3-star figure the Summer Triangle. Stellarium

Back on June 11, 1930 three members of the American Meteor Society (AMS) in Maryland saw a half-hour-long bright outburst of meteors from the little constellation Delphinus the Dolphin. No one had predicted the shower, but it came out of nowhere and hasn’t been seen since. Attempts to catch a repeat performance in subsequent years met with no success.

That may change tomorrow morning, June 11, 2013. Peter Jenniskins, research scientist with the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center, has examined dust outbursts from long-period comets and suggests the Gamma Delphinids may return for a brief moment of splendor, as Earth passes through this stream of cometary debris not seen since 1930.

Bright meteors photographed in Ohio during the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in 2012. The Gamma Delphinids may send similar bright meteors our way tomorrow morning. Credit: John Chumack
Bright meteors photographed in Ohio during the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in 2012. The Gamma Delphinids may send similar bright meteors our way tomorrow morning. Credit: John Chumack

The expected time of maximum activity is 4:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 3:30 a.m. Central, 2:30 a.m. Mountain and 1:30 a.m. Pacific. These times are ideal for the Americas where Delphinus is high in southern sky at the peak time. Robert Lunsford of the AMS recommends starting your Gamma Delphinid vigil 2 hours ahead of time in case the shower’s early. If these meteors really do happen, you’ll see them anywhere in the sky, but they’ll all trace back to a point near the star Gamma Delphini in the dolphin’s nose.

The map above shows the worldwide possible visibility for the gamma Delphinid shower. Visibility will be best in the bright green areas, which have the highest radiant elevation. Unshaded areas on the map will not have a view of the shower. Credit: Geert Barentsen, International Meteor Organization
The map above shows the worldwide possible visibility for the gamma Delphinid shower. Visibility will be best in the bright green areas, which have the highest radiant elevation. Unshaded areas on the map will not have a view of the shower. Credit: Geert Barentsen, International Meteor Organization

No one knows how strong the shower might be or even the duration though it’s likely to be brief. Time estimate range from one hour to 15 minutes. Lunsford expects bright meteors to appear a minute or two apart.  If you’re game, split the difference and set up in a comfy lawn chair facing south an hour before the expected maximum. Should you see any of these rare dolphin tears, consider e-mailing a report to: [email protected]

Tonight June 10-11 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. CDT, Dr. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office will take your questions via live web chat. He’ll offer viewing tips about the shower and include a live Ustream telescope view of the skies over Huntsville, Ala.

If you shoot video or images and want to help improve our understanding of this elusive meteor shower, you can upload them to the Office’s Flickr group and also to Universe Today’s Flickr group. We’ll post images if this meteor shower proves to show up!

Posted on by Bob King

June Arietids – The Invisible Meteor Shower You Just Might See

You might just see a few meteors from the combined Arietids and Zeta Perseid showers that peak Friday and Saturday mornings. This map shows the sky facing northeast at dawn for the mid-section of the U.S. Created with Stellarium

I’ve never seen an Arietid meteor and chances are you haven’t either. Peaking on June 7-8, the Arietid (AIR-ee-uh-tid) meteor shower is one of the strongest of the year with a maximum rate of 50-80 per hour. But there’s a rub. The shower radiant, the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate, is near the sun and best seen during daylight hours. When was the last time you saw meteors in daylight?

Early scientific exploration of the sky in radio waves at Jodrell Bank Observatory in 1945. Credit: Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester
Early scientific exploration of the sky in radio waves at Jodrell Bank Observatory in 1945. Credit: Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester

If you’re wondering how anyone could discover a meteor shower when the sun is out, it’s impossible unless your eyes can see radio waves. The Arietids were first “seen” in 1947 by operators of radio equipment at Jodrell Bank Observatory in England. Meteors leave trails of ionized gases when they rip through our upper atmosphere at tens of thousands of miles per hour and briefly make ideal reflectors of radio waves.

You can even hear them yourself by tuning to a “blank” spot between stations on an FM radio and listening for sudden bursts of talk or music when the meteor trail boosts a neighboring station into audibility. Click HERE for simple instructions if you’d like to give it a try.

The Arietids are joined by a second daytime shower at the same time by the Zeta Perseids, a smaller shower, to guarantee a couple busy days of meteor-listening — and potential meteor-watching —  on and around June 7-8. Most meteor showers are tied to a particular comet, since they’re swarms of dusty detritus left behind in a comet’s wake as it travels ’round the sun. When Earth intersects the stream, tiny comet bits slam into the atmosphere, heat up to 3,000 F or more and self-immolate in glowing streaks we call meteors. Occasionally a shower’s parent can be an asteroid as in the case of the January Quadrantid meteor shower. It’s suspected that the asteroid 2003 EH1 may be a extinct comet.

Most meteors are comet dust striking at the atmosphere at speeds so high, they vaporiz in a blaze of light. This is a meteor from the Leonid shower in 2001. Credit: Bob King
Most meteors are comet dust striking at the atmosphere at speeds so high, they vaporiz in a blaze of light. This is a meteor from the Leonid shower in 2001. Credit: Bob King

No one’s certain of the Arietids’ parentage. Likely candidates include the near-Earth asteroid 1566 Icarus and Comet 96P/Machholz, both of which have orbits that resemble the shower’s.

After ignoring May’s Eta Aquarid meteor shower for years because of its very low radiant at dawn, I was pleasantly surprised by the many meteors I saw when I happened to catch the shower at maximum on May 6 this year. Circumstances are only slightly worse for the Arietids. That’s why I think it’s worth your while to check out this shower tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday morning(June 7-8). Face east and start watching an hour or two before the start of dawn and continue your vigil until the sky brightens in the east.

The lesser Zeta Perseids are also active, adding to the fun. Since the two shower radiants are close to each other in the sky, it may be hard to tell which you’re seeing. No matter. Any fiery streaks you can trace back toward the east-northeast horizon will likely be one or the other.

Earth-grazing meteor photographed by Manuel Conde of Barcelona, Spain.
Earth-grazing meteor photographed by Manuel Conde of Barcelona, Spain.

Whenever a radiant is near the horizon, many of the meteors approaching us do so at a very shallow angle almost horizontal to the Earth’s atmosphere. From our perspective they travel slowly and last a much longer time than do meteors striking the air at a steeper angle, typical for radiants that are higher in the sky.

Astronomers use the poetic “Earth-grazers” to describe them. Having seen a handful of these unique beauties during the May Aquarid shower, I’m hungry for more. Since the Arietids / Zeta Perseids also originate low in the sky, we should expect similar sights Friday and Saturday mornings.

Posted on by David Dickinson

Watch for the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower this Weekend

The radiant of the Eta Aquarids rising. Looking to the south east from latitude 30 degrees north about 3 hours before local sunrise on May 5th. (Created by the author in Stellarium).

An often ignored meteor shower may offer fine prospects for viewing this weekend.

The Eta Aquarid meteors provide a dependable display in early May. With a radiant very near a Y-shaped asterism in northern Aquarius, the Eta Aquarids are one of the very few major showers that provide a decent annual show for southern hemisphere residents.  

This year, the peak of the Eta Aquarids as per the International Meteor Organization (IMO) comes on May 6th at 1:00 UT, or 9:00 PM EDT on May 5th. This favors European longitudes eastward on the morning of Monday, May 6th. The Eta Aquarid radiant rises just a few hours before dawn, providing optimal viewing in the same time frame.

Keep in mind, the shower is active from April 19th to May 28th. Predicting the arrival of the peak of a meteor shower can be an inexact science. North American observers may still see an early arrival of the Eta  Aquarids on May 5th or even the morning of the 4th.

Could “the 4th be with us” at least in terms of meteor shower activity?

The Eta Aquarids are one of two annual meteor showers associated with that most famous of comets: 1P/Halley.  The other shower associated with Halley’s Comet is the October Orionids. This makes it one of the very few periodic comets associated with two established annual meteor showers.

Like the Orionids, the Eta Aquarid meteors have one of the highest atmospheric velocities of any shower, at 66 kilometres per second. Expect short, swift meteors radiating from low in the southeast (or northeast if you’re based south of the equator) a few hours before local dawn.

This year’s ZHR is expected to reach 55. This year also offers outstanding prospects, because the Moon is only a 17% illuminated waning crescent just 4 days from New at the shower’s peak. There’s some thought in the meteor observing community that this shower experiences a cyclical peak every 12 years.

If this is indeed the case, we could be headed towards a mild lull in this shower around the 2014 to 2016 time frame. Performances from the Eta Aquarids over the past few years as per data from the IMO seem to bear this out, with a peak around 2009;

2012=ZHR 69

2011=ZHR 63

2010=No data

2009=ZHR 90

2008=65

Still, 55 per hour is a respectable shower. Keep in mind, the ZHR stands for the “Zenithal Hourly Rate” and is an ideal number. This is the number of meteors an observer could expect to see under dark skies with no light pollution with the radiant directly overhead. Also, remember that no single observer can monitor the entire sky at once!

This is also one of the last big annual showers of the season until the Perseids in mid-August. The Gamma Delphinids (June 11th) and the June Bootids (Jun 27th and the June Lyrids (June 15th) are the only minor showers in June. July also sees another minor shower radiating from the constellation Aquarius, the Delta Aquarids which peak on July 30th. The daytime Arietids in June would put on a fine annual showing if they didn’t occur in… you guessed it… the daytime.

This weekend’s Eta Aquarids will put on a better display for the southern hemisphere, one of the very few showers for which this is true.

It’s a poorly understood mystery. Why does the northern celestial hemisphere seem to contain a majority of major meteor shower radiants? The Geminids, the Leonids, the Perseids, the Quadrantids… all of these showers approach the Earth from above the celestial equator, and even from above the ecliptic plane. The Eta Aquarids are one of the very few major showers that goes against this trend.

Is it all just a coincidence? Perhaps. Like total solar eclipses, meteor showers are as much a product of our position in time as well as space. New streams are shed as comets visit the inner solar system, some for the very first time. These older trails interact with and are dispersed by subsequent passages near planets. The 12 year fluctuation of the Eta Aquarids is thought to be related to the orbit of Jupiter which has a similar period.

For example, one meteor shower known as the Andromedids was prone to epic storm outbursts until the early 20th century. Now the stream is a mere trickle. Meteor showers evolve over time, and perhaps their seeming affinity for the northern hemisphere of our planet is a mere perception of our epoch. Maybe a future study could discern a bias due to the number of prograde versus retrograde cometary orbits, or perhaps statistical scrutiny could reveal that no such partiality actually exists.

All food for thought as you keep vigil these early May mornings for the meteoric “Drops from the Water Jar…” Be sure to post those meteor pics to the Universe Today’s Flickr forum, report those meteor counts to the International Meteor Organization, and tweet those fireball sightings to #Meteorwatch!

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

More Incredible Geminid Meteor Shower Images and Video

“This shot is a composite of about 700 frames from a time-lapse I took in Big Sur, CA. I found 61 frames with meteors in them. (Some frames had two or three meteors.) Then I stacked the frames and created masks for each meteor. This is my final shot!” Credit: Ken Brandon.

We have received so many great shots from the Geminid Meteor Shower, that we decided we needed to add another post (here’s our previous collection of Geminid Meteor Shower shots from around the world.) Enjoy the beauty and majesty of the night sky, captured in these amazing images. Click the images to see larger versions on our Flickr page, and thanks to everyone who submitted images and video.

“The Beacon: If you look closely you can see me looking up into the sky. Not a perfect shot but a lucky one. Credit to friend for firing the camera.” Credit: dwissman611 on Flickr.

Prolific astrophotographer John Chumack compiled this video of the Geminid Meteor Shower 2012, and in a minute and a half, shows over 400 meteors he captured on video!

Silent Witness, a Geminid Meteor from Black Balsam Knob near East Fork, North Carolina. Credit: Daniel Lowe/IStockTimelapse © danieldragonfilms.com

Geminid passing the Orion Constellation. Credit: fxmurphy on Flickr

Geminid meteor composite from 36 frames. Credit: Mark Ezell.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Incredible Sky Show: Geminid Meteor Shower Images from Around the World

Geminids at Gates Pass. Composite image from 30 frames of video. Credit: Sean Parker

The 2012 Geminid Meteor Shower has lived up to expectations, and here are some images and videos provided by people around the world.

“What an incredible show we had here!” said Sean Parker in Tucson, Arizona, USA. “I was able to see about 50 per hour.”

The images were shot at Gates Pass in Tucson, Arizona on the morning of 12-13-12. You can see M31 (Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away) at the left next to the Milky way.

More below, and you can click on most of these images to see larger versions in Flickr or Twitter.

Geminid Fireball. A large Geminid burns up in the atmosphere above the iconic Flatirons of Boulder, CO. Credit: Patrick Cullis

And another by Patrick:

Geminid Meteor Shower above the Flatirons, Boulder, CO. Credit: Patrick Cullis

Raining Down on Roseberry Topping (Geminid Meteor Shower 2012).Credit: Peter Greig.

Peter says: “This is the only meteor I caught whilst on a Geminid meteor hunting trip …at Captain Cooks Monument, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, UK.”

Geminid Meteor Over Death Valley. Credit: Gavin Heffernan/SunChaser Pictures

Meteors in Malta. Credit: Leonard Ellul-Mercer

Leonard shares: “Last night the sky was totally overcast in Malta and this was very depressing as I was looking forward to this meteor shower. At around midnight I decided to retire, However, before doing so I went on the roof and noted some very small breaks in the cloud, but in a matter of 10 minutes I noted 6 bright meteors in these small gaps. So I presumed that there was a good meteor shower going on beyond those clouds. After about 30 mins. the cloud break increased and the show started off. It was a great meteor shower with bright meteors appearing every one or two minutes.”

Here’s a compilation of various views from a news station in Modesto, California. Some shots are obviously from a fish-eye camera:

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Winter Milky Way Geminids on December 12, 2012. Credit: John Chumack

The Geminid Meteor Shower is underway, with the peak on December 13th and 14th! SpaceWeather.com is reporting that international observers are counting as many as 50 meteors per hour as Earth plunges into a stream of debris from rock comet 3200 Phaethon. Astrophotographer John Chumack in Ohio, USA took the image of a bright fireball last night (Dec. 12/13) and said he was seeing one or two meteors every minute or so, describing the sky show as “definitely one of the best Geminid showers I’ve seen in over 20 years!”

John also compiled a video, below.

So if you’ve got clear skies, get out there and look up! The best time to look will be after dark on Thursday, December 13 and before dawn on Friday, December 14. The Geminids are notably one of the most reliable meteor showers, and this year the timing is great as the new Moon won’t intefer with the shower. Astronomers from McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas predicts skywatchers can expect to see dozens of meteors per hour.


Additionally, NASA says that for the first time, Earth might also pass through the tail of another object, comet Wirtanen, which could possibly provide even more meteors in the sky. No one is really sure what kind of meteor action this comet will produce, but Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment off says even if the new shower is a dud, the Geminids should be great.

For the Geminids, meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Gemini, although they should be visible all over the sky. If Wirtanen does contribute to the shower, they may appear to come from the constellation Pisces.

If you’ve got cloudy skies or its too cold outside, there are a few alternatives:

NASA TV is going to have a live broadcast from 11:00 pm-3:00 am EST.

You can follow along via Twitter and MeteorWatch. All you need to do is check for the #meteorwatch hashtag, and people will be posting descriptions and images.

You can also “listen” to the meteor shower: The Air Force Space Surveillance Radar is scanning the skies above Texas. When a meteor or satellite passes over the facility–ping!–there is an echo. Check out SpaceWeatherRadio for the broadcast.

Posted on by VirtualAstro

Geminid Meteor Shower and Meteorwatch

Credit: VirtualAstro

The Geminid Meteor Shower is the grand finale of astronomical events in 2012 and is usually the most reliable and prolific of the annual meteor showers.

This year we are in for a special treat as the Moon will be absent when the Geminids are at their peak on the evening of the 12th/ 13th of December. This means that the sky should be at its darkest when the shower is expected, and many more of the fainter meteors may be seen.

The Geminid meteor shower is expected to yield in excess of 50 meteors (shooting stars) per hour at peak for those with clear skies, the meteors it produces are usually bright with long persistent trains. If observing opportunities aren’t favorable or possible on the 12th/ 13th, meteor watchers can usually see high meteor activity a day or so either side of the peak.

As well as being the grand finale of 2012, the Geminids are special in another way. Unlike the majority of all the other annual meteor showers the Geminids are thought to be from an object known as 3200 Phaethon – an asteroid not a comet.

To celebrate this long anticipated event, there will be the Geminid Meteorwatch and anyone with an interest in the night sky can join in on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The event will be an excellent opportunity to learn, share information, experiences, images and more. Whatever your level of interest, wherever you are on the planet Meteorwatch will run for approximately four days. All you need to do is follow along using the #meteorwatch hashtag.

As well as the wealth of information exchanged and shared on Twitter and the other social media outlets, there are helpful guides and information available on Meteorwatch.org so you can get the most out of your #meteorwatch.
To get the ball rolling there is a Hollywood style trailer for the event, purely as a bit of fun and for people of all walks of life to feel inspired and to go outside and look up. You don’t need a telescope or anything, just your eyes and a little bit of patience to see a Geminid meteor.

Good luck

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Brighter Than the Moon: Camera Captures Brilliant Leonid Fireball

The Leonid Meteor shower is usually notorious for the bright fireballs it can produce, but this fireball exploded with unexpected brilliance. Fortunately, an all-sky camera captured the event. NASA said there were numerous reports of a bright fireball over northwest Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 18 at approximately 7:30 p.m. EST. A check of the southeastern cameras operated by NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office recorded the fireball, and its outburst was brighter than the Moon. If anyone happened to see this or capture anything similar with your camera, let us know!

Astrophotographers did manage to get some images of the Leonids over the weekend — which, other than this bright fireball — seemed to be relatively quiet. See images below:

A Leonid meteor over Trá Mór, Spiddal, Ireland on November 18, 2012 at 4:45 am local time. Credit: Trevor Durity

Trevor Durity captured a small Leonid fireball in the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 18. “One of the few meteors I saw,” Trevor wrote on Flickr. “Pure luck to have caught it … Appeared at first like a very bright shooting star – went about 10 degrees and blew up.”

Also in the picture are the Gemini twins Castor and Pollux to the top middle, M44 the Beehive Cluster to the lower left; and the bright star Procyon to the lower right of the twins, and Leo the Lion on the left hand side of the picture.

A lone Leonid was captured over Donegal, Ireland. Credit: Brendan Alexander.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophotos: The 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower from Around the World

Caption: Perseid Meteors with Lunar & Planetary Conjunction on August 12, 2012. Credit: John Chumack.

Here’s some great views of the Perseid Meteor Shower from Universe Today readers around the world. Over the weekend was the peak of the annual meteor shower that never seems to disappoint! We start with one of our “regulars,” John Chumack from his observatory in Yellow Springs, Ohio, USA. But there were also many other objects in John’s field of view, including the waning crescent Moon, Venus, and Orion rising over the observatory dome, the Pleaides, Hyades, and Jupiter, too. John used a odified Canon Rebel Xsi & 17mm lens at F4, ISO 400, and a 20 second exposure. See more of John’s wonderful astrophotos at his Flickr page or at his website, Galactic Images.

More beautiful shots below:

Caption: The Perseids on August 13, 2012. Credit: M. Rasid Tugral from Ankara, Turkey

M. Rasid Tugral from Ankara, Turkey sent in this great image from August 13. Tugral is an accomplished astrophotographer and teaches at the Middle East Technical University in the Department of Physics.

By Patrick Cullis (pcully on Flickr) in Colorado, USA, taken on August 12, 2012 using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Caption: Perseids on August 9, 2012. Credit: Nu Am (tazacanitu).

Another great shot from August 9, 2012 by Nu Am (tzacanitu on Flickr) “Out of the camera raw, re-dimensioned to 25% and saved as jpg. Canon 50D + Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD IF @17mm, tripod, ISO 400, 30seconds, f/4.”

Caption: 2012 Perseids on August 12, 2012. Credit: Kevin Jung.

A lovely capture of two Perseid meteors in one shot by Kevin Jung(Kevin’s Stuff on Flickr). “Two Perseid meteors show up in a 30 second image shot during the night of August 11/morning of August 12,” Kevin wrote from Lowell, Michigan, USA. He used a Canon EOS 40D. “Since there were some meteors in all parts of the sky, I just pointed my camera to the north with Perseus just to the right of the frame,” Kevin explained. “I used the intervelometer and took 30 second shots automatically. It was lucky that the skies cleared in time to see anything. We had clouds all day, and then weather system was slow to move out of the area. The started to break up around 10pm, but it was until after midnight when the skies cleared up (with the exception of a few areas).”

Thanks to everyone who shared their images!

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.