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Robert Lunsford

Robert Lunsford

Bob has been interested in the stars as far back as he can recall His first experience with meteors was a biggie, the 1966 Leonid shower. In 1980, a major awaking occurred. He received a sample copy of Meteor News. He was amazed to learn there was a group actually devoted strictly to meteor observing! He joined the group also started to view some of the minor showers list among the pages of Meteor News. Lastly, he was contracted by Springer Publishing in 2007 to write a book on observing meteors. The book is now available and hopefully will be a useful guide to all interested in the enjoyable field of meteor observing.

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 9-15, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Wednesday July 13th. At that time the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, allowing a few hours of observing time under dark skies.

by - Jul 8, 2022 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 2-8, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Thursday July 7th. At that time the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 01:00 local Daylight Saving Time (LDST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the evening hours and will not interfere with meteor observing during the more active morning hours.

by - Jul 1, 2022 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for June 25-July 1, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Wednesday June 29th. At that time the moon is located near the sun and will be invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise shortly before dawn and will not interfere with meteor observing.

by - Jun 24, 2022 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for June 18-24, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Monday June 20th. At that time the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise 01:00 and 02:00 local daylight saving time (on the 21st). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will spoil the morning sky as its glare will obscure all but the brighter meteors.

by - Jun 17, 2022 - 6

Meteor Activity Outlook for June 4-10, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Tuesday June 7th. At that time the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 02:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will grace the evening sky but will set long before the more active morning hours arrive.

by - Jun 3, 2022 - 3

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 28-June 3, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Monday May 30th. At that time the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. As the week progresses, the moon enters the evening sky but will set long before the more active morning hours arrive.

by - May 27, 2022 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 21-27, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday May 22nd. At that time the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 0200 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses, the moon sets approximately 45 minutes later each night, allowing meteor observers to view under better conditions during the more active morning hours.

by - May 20, 2022 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 30-May 6, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Saturday April 30th. At that time the moon is located near the sun and is not visible at night. As the week progresses, the moon enters the evening sky but will not interfere with the more active morning hours as it sets long before then.

by - Apr 29, 2022 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 23-29, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Saturday April 23rd. On that morning the half-illuminated moon will rise near 3:00 local daylight saving time (LDST) and will interfere with morning meteor observations the remainder of the night. As the week progresses, the moon rises later in the morning and by the end of the week the moon will rise near dawn, allowing dark skies the entire night.

by - Apr 22, 2022 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 16-22, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday April 16th. At that time the moon will lie above the horizon all night long, making meteor viewing difficult at best. As the week progresses a small window of opportunity will open up to watch meteor activity under dark skies between dusk and moon rise. Unfortunately, this time of night produces the lowest meteor activity so activity will be sparse at best.

by - Apr 15, 2022 - 5

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 9-15, 2022

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday April 9th. The half-illuminated moon will interfere with evening and early morning meteor observations as it doesn't set until 03:00 local daylight saving time (LDST), allowing only a small remainder of the night to be free of interfering moonlight. As the week progresses, the moon sets later and later, interfering all night long by the end of the period.

by - Apr 8, 2022 - 9

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 2-8, 2022

During this period, the moon waxes from a thin crescent to nearly half-illuminated. This weekend the thin crescent moon will set shortly after dusk, so no moonlight will interfere during the remainder of the night. Late in the period the evening hours have interfering moonlight, but the more active morning hours are still free from any interference.

by - Apr 1, 2022 - 2