07/25/2022 – Ephemeris – Getting an early look at the Perseid Meteor Shower

This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 9:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:22. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 3:57 tomorrow morning.

The annual Perseid meteor shower, which will reach its peak on the evening of August 12th has the full moon to contend with. So the best time to spot these meteors is before the peak. Members of this meteor shower can be spotted from July 17th to August 24th, but in much reduced numbers. They are best seen after midnight, however since the point in the sky they seem to come from, the radiant, is always above the horizon, they can be spotted any time at night. They will seem to come from the northeastern part of the sky, and below the letter W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteors coming from the southeast after 11 pm will predominate. Its radiant, the point from which the meteors will seem to come from, will be near the Moon. The Southern Delta Aquariids will reach their peak on the 30th of this month, with dark skies. The Southern Delta Aquariid radiant will rise about 11 pm now, and it will be possible to spot one of its meteors until the Moon rises. The hourly rates of the Perseids will increase each night until the Moon starts to interfere with the shower in early August.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Finder chart for Perseid Radiant for August 25, 11pm. The radiant point will move slowly to the left for the duration of the meteor shower over the next month. By August 12th, the shower’s peak, the radiant will be just left of the top star of Perseus. Created using Stellarium.

07/27/2020 – Ephemeris – Two meteor showers, one near peak, another just starting

This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 9:13, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:25. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:18 tomorrow morning. | Tonight’s first quarter Moon will hinder the viewing of Comet NEOWISE and the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower until after moonset at 1:18 am. The meteor shower radiant will start out low southeastern sky and end up in the south as twilight brightens. It is usually during this meteor shower that the first Perseid meteors show up. The Perseid meteor shower is the most watched meteor shower of the year. It’s great every year except when there’s a bright Moon. This year the Perseids will reach their peak hourly numbers on the morning of August 12th after sunrise, unfortunately. The Moon will interfere after it rises at 12:46 am, which leaves two hours of moonless meteor viewing earlier on the evening of the 11th.

The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The Sky Dome at 2 am tomorrow morning July 28, 2020 at 2 am. DAqr is the approximate location of the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower and PerR is the approximate location of the Perseid radiant. Created using my LookingUp program.

Comet NEOWISE in the evening for July 14, 2020 to July 31, 2020. The horizon is for July 14th at 11 p.m. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Chart).