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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 January 30-February 05, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Thursday February 4th. At this time, the half-illuminated moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun, thus it will rise near 01:00 local standard time. This weekend the nearly full moon will rise just after the end of dusk and will lie above the horizon all night long. As lunar interference is present all night long, this is the worst time to try and view meteor activity as the lunar glare will obscure all but the brighter meteors.

by - Jan 29, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for January 23-29, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Friday January 29th. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun, thus it will rise as the sun sets and set as the sun rises. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, leaving a small period of time free from interfering moonlight.

by - Jan 22, 2021 - 2

Meteor Activity Outlook for January 16-22, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Thursday January 21st. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun in the sky and sets near 0100 local standard time. This weekend the waxing crescent moon will be present in the western sky after dusk but will soon set, leaving the remainder of the night free from interfering moonlight.

by - Jan 15, 2021 - 6

Meteor Activity Outlook for January 9-15, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Wednesday January 13th. At this time, the moon is located near the sun in the sky and is invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours but will not interfere with viewing meteor activity as long as you keep it out of your field of view while observing.

by - Jan 8, 2021 - 3

Meteor Activity Outlook for January 2-8, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Wednesday January 6th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun in the sky and will rise near midnight standard time. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the evening hours and will make it difficult to view any meteor activity the remainder of the night.

by - Jan 4, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for December 26, 2020-January 1, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday December 29th. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun in the sky and will lie above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the morning hours and will leave a small period of time to view under dark conditions between moon set and dawn.

by - Dec 25, 2020 - 4

Meteor Activity Outlook for December 19-25, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Tuesday December 22nd. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near midnight local standard time. This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the evening hours and will not interfere with viewing the stronger meteor activity that occurs during the morning hours.

by - Dec 18, 2020 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for December 12-18, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Monday December 14th. At this time, the moon is located near the sun and will be invisible at night. This weekend the slender waning crescent moon will rise at dawn and will not interfere with viewing meteor activity.

by - Dec 11, 2020 - 3

Viewing the Geminid Meteor Shower in 2020

The Geminids are usually the strongest meteor shower of the year. The Geminids are expected to be active between December 1st and 22nd this year. The highest rates are expected to occur on the night of December 13/14, when rates can exceed one per minute from dark sky sites.

by - Dec 9, 2020 - 24

Meteor Activity Outlook For December 5-11, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Tuesday December 8th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near midnight local standard time (LST). The evening hours will be free of interfering moonlight and the morning hours can also be used for observing as long as you keep the moon out of your field of view.

by - Dec 4, 2020 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for November 28-December 4, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Monday November 30th. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. This is the worst time of the month to try and view meteor activity as the bright moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors.

by - Nov 28, 2020 - 4

Meteor Activity Outlook for November 21-27, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday November 21st. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 2300 local standard time. As this period progresses, the waxing gibbous moon will set later with each passing night, shrinking the available time to view under dark, moonless skies.

by - Nov 20, 2020 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for November 14-20, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Sunday November 15th. At this time, the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. As this period progresses, the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observations, especially during the more active morning hours.

by - Nov 13, 2020 - 5

Meteor Activity Outlook for November 7-13, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday November 8th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise near 0100 local standard time (LST). As this period progresses, the waning crescent moon will rise later with each passing night, allowing a greater period of dark skies as the week progresses.

by - Nov 6, 2020 - 4

Meteor Activity Outlook for October 24-30, 2020

During this period, the moon waxes from half illuminated to nearly full. This weekend the moon will set during the early morning hours, allowing several hours of good viewing prior to the start of dawn. As this period progresses, the waxing gibbous moon will begin to interfere with morning meteor observing as it sets approximately 45 minutes later with each passing night. By the end of this period the nearly full moon will lie above the horizon all night long, making meteor observing difficult at best.

by - Oct 23, 2020 - 4

Viewing the Orionid Meteor Shower in 2020

This year the maximum activity for the Orionids is predicted to occur on the morning of October 21st, when up to 20 swift Orionid meteors should be visible per hour from rural locations away from city lights. Orionid meteors are not visible until after 22:00 (10pm) local daylight saving time as the source of these meteors...

by - Oct 13, 2020 - 3

Meteor Activity Outlook for October 10-16, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Friday October 16th. At that time, the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours but will not interfere with meteor observing as long as your keep it out of your field of view.

by - Oct 9, 2020 - 7