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.
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.
Location of the Ursid (URS) radiant on December 21/22, looking slightly east (right) of due north. The Ursid meteor shower…
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.
Paul Sutherland captured this Leonid fireball from Walmer, Kent, England, on 19 November 2017 at 02h29m09s UT. Credit Paul Sutherland…
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...
Each year around October 8th the Earth passes close to the orbit of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. In most years only a…
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.
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.
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.
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.
Perseid meteors over Luzern, Switzerland ©right; Orest Shvadchak (Olympus Corp. E-M10 Mark III, 8mm, 1s, f/1.8, ISO1600) The Perseids are…
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.
Our friends at the IMO just released their annual meteor shower calendar for 2021: everything you need to know about 2021 meteor activity in 28 pages.
During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Thursday May 14th. At that time, the moon lies 90 degrees west the sun and will rise near 03:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the evening hours and will challenge the meteor observer by obscuring all but the brighter meteors.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday April 7th. At this time the moon lies opposite the sun and will be above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the morning hours allowing meteor observers a short window of opportunity to view under dark skies just before dawn.
The Ursids are active from December 19-24 with a sharp maximum on December 22nd. Conditions are favorable for viewing the Ursids in 2019 as the moon’s phase will be a waning crescent situated in the constellation of Libra...
Everything you need to know to enjoy the most dependable meteor shower of the year (despite the moon)...
Well known meteor scientists Peter Jenniskens and Esko Lyytinen have predicted that there may be an outburst of the alpha Monocertoid meteor shower on the night of November 21/22, 2019.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday November 12th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon sets just before dawn allowing some observing before dawn to view under dark conditions.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday October 13th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and lie above the horizon all night long. Toward the end of this period there will be a moonless period of a couple of hours between dusk and moonrise. Unfortunately meteor rates at this time are very low.
American Meteor Society