American Meteor Society
Meteor Activity for September 22-28, 2018
Eliot Herman captured this fine example of a September epsilon Perseid on September 11, 2018 from Tucson, Arizona USA…
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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 September 15-21, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its first quarter phase on Sunday September 16th. At that time the moon will lie 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near midnight local daylight saving time (LDT). As the week progresses the waxing gibbous moon will set later and later, shrinking the window of opportunity to view meteor activity under dark skies.
Meteor Activity Outlook for September 8-14, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its new phase on Sunday September 9th. At that time the moon will lie near the sun in the sky and will be invisible at night. As the week progresses the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with viewing meteor activity.
Meteor Activity Outlook for September 1-7, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its last quarter phase on Monday September 3rd. At that time the moon will lie 90 degrees west of the sun in the sky and will rise near midnight local daylight saving time (LDT) as seen from mid-northern latitudes. As the week progresses the waning crescent moon will rise later with each passing night, creating more favorable viewing conditions.
Meteor Activity Outlook for August 25-31, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its full phase on Sunday August 26th. At that time the moon will lie opposite of the sun in the sky and will remain above the horizon all night long. As the week progresses the waning gibbous moon will rise during the late evening hours with the moon severely hampering efforts to see meteor activity during the more active morning hours.
Meteor Activity Outlook for August 18-24, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its first quarter phase on Saturday August 18th. At that time the moon will lie 90 degrees east of the sun in the sky and will set near midnight local daylight saving time (LDT) as seen from mid-northern latitudes. As the week progresses the waxing gibbous moon will encroach upon the morning hours, limiting the time observers have to view under moonless conditions.
Meteor Activity Outlook for August 11-17, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its new phase on Saturday August 11th. At that time the moon will lie near the sun in the sky and will be invisible at night. As the week progresses the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not cause much interference for meteor observers, especially during the more active morning hours.
Viewing the Perseid Meteor Shower in 2018
The Perseids are often the most impressive Meteor Shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. The Perseid meteor shower offers a consistently high rate of meteors every year and it occurs in August when the temperatures are usually nice enough for a night under the stars!
Meteor Activity Outlook for August 4-10, 2018
During this period the moon will reach its last quarter phase on Saturday August 4th. This is good for evening observations but once the moon rises during the early morning hours, conditions will be less than ideal. These conditions improve with each passing night to where there is little lunar interference at the end of this period.
Meteor Activity Outlook for July 28-August 3, 2018
During this period the moon will wane from it's nearly full phase down to almost half-illuminated. This weekend the moon will rise shortly after dusk and will rise approximately 45 minutes later each night. Although meteor activity is strong this time of year the bright moon will obscure all but the brighter meteors.
Meteor Activity Outlook for July 21-27, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's full phase on Friday July 27th. At that time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon most of the night. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours allowing a few hours of dark skies in which to watch meteor activity under good conditions.
Meteor Activity Outlook for July 14-20, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's first quarter phase on Thursday July 19th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set around 0100 local daylight saving time (DST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the early evening hours and will not interfere with meteor viewing.
Meteor Activity Outlook for June 30-July 6, 2018
Meteor season finally gets going in July for the northern hemisphere. The first half of the month will be much like June with predominately slow rates. After the 15th though, both sporadic and shower rates increase significantly!
Meteor Activity Outlook for June 23-29, 2018
The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is 2 as seen from mid-northern latitude (45N) and 3 from the southern tropics (25S). For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 10 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 13 from the southern tropics (25S). Evening rates are reduced due to interfering moonlight.
Meteor Activity Outlook for June 16-22, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's first quarter phase on Wednesday June 20th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 0100 local daylight saving time (LDT). This will cause interference with evening meteor viewing but the more active morning hours will be free of moonlight. This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set prior to midnight allowing good views of the morning activity.
Meteor Activity Outlook for June 9-15, 2018
The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is 3 as seen from mid-northern latitude (45N) and 4 from the southern tropics (25S). For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 8 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 11 from the southern tropics (25S).
Meteor Activity Outlook for June 2-8, 2018
June is another slow month for meteor activity. There are no major showers active in June and only the Anthelion source can be counted on for continuous activity. During this period the moon will reach it's last quarter phase on Wednesday June 6th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise between 0100 and 0200 local daylight saving time (LDT) for observers located at mid-northern latitudes.
Meteor Activity Outlook for May 26-June 1, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's full phase on Tuesday May 29th. At that time the moon will be located opposite the sun and remain above the horizon most of the night. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the late morning hours, giving a small window of opportunity to view meteor activity between moonset and the start of morning twilight.
Meteor Activity Outlook for May 19-25, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's first quarter phase on Tuesday May 22th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and set near 0200 local daylight saving time (LDT). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the mid-evening hours and will not interfere with meteor observing during the more active morning hours.
Meteor Activity Outlook for May 12-18, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's new phase on Tuesday May 15th. At that time the moon will be located near the sun and will be invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise shortly before dawn and will be too thin to cause any problems viewing meteor activity.
Meteor Activity Outlook for May 5-11, 2018
During this period the moon will reach it's last quarter phase on Tuesday May 8th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise between 02:00 and 3:00 local daylight saving time (LDT) as seen from mid-northern latitudes. As the week progresses the waning crescent moon will become less of a problem as it rises later in the morning with each passing night.