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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 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

Meteor Activity Outlook for October 3-9, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Friday October 9th. At that time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 23:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). For this weekend and most of next week the bright waning gibbous moon will rise during the evening hours and will spoil any chance of seeing much meteor activity. Toward the end of the week a window of dark will will occur between dusk and moon rise. Unfortunately meteor activity is near its lowest point of the night during this time.

by - Oct 5, 2020 - 2

Meteor Activity Outlook for September 26-October 2, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday October 1st. 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 observations under dark skies between moon set and dawn.

by - Sep 25, 2020 - 2

Meteor Activity Outlook for September 19-25, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Wednesday September 23rd. At this time, the half-illuminated moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 2300 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the early evening hours and will not interfere with meteor observing.

by - Sep 18, 2020 - 3

Meteor Activity Outlook for September 12-18, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Thursday September 17th. At this 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 and will not be too much of a nuisance as long as you keep it out of your field of view while observing.

by - Sep 11, 2020 - 1

Viewing the 2020 September epsilon Perseids

Normally, the September epsilon Perseids meteor shower (SPE) produce a peak of around 5 meteors per hour at maximum. This year, with a 60 percent illuminated moon rising near 22:30 (10:30pm) local summer time, one could easily dismiss the probably of seeing anything extraordinary from this source.

by - Sep 8, 2020 - 4

Meteor Activity Outlook for September 5-11, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Thursday September 10th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 23:00 local daylight saving time (LDST) on September 9th. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will spoil the viewing for the remainder of the night.

by - Sep 4, 2020 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 29-September 4, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday September 3rd. At this 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 short opportunity to view meteor activity prior to dawn.

by - Aug 28, 2020 - 4

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 22-28, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Wednesday August 26th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets between midnight and 0100 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the early evening hours and will not interfere with the more active morning hours.

by - Aug 21, 2020 - 3

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 15-21, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Wednesday August 19th. At this 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 be too thin to interfere with meteor observing.

by - Aug 14, 2020 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 8-14, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Tuesday August 11th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises between 23:00 and midnight local daylight saving time (LDST on August 10/11) . This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the late evening hours, allowing a short but dark glimpse of the early August activity between dusk and moonrise.

by - Aug 7, 2020 - 8

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 1-7, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Monday August 3rd. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. This weekend the nearly full moon will set an hour prior to dawn, allowing a short but dark glimpse of the early August activity. By Thursday, the short, dark portion of night will have shifted to the evening sky in the hour following dusk.

by - Jul 31, 2020 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 25-31, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Monday July 27th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near midnight. This weekend the more active morning sky will be totally free of interfering moonlight. As the week progresses though, only the few hours just prior to dawn will provide dark skies.

by - Jul 25, 2020 - 2