American Meteor Society
Viewing the Quadrantid Meteor Shower in 2021
The Quadrantids can be one of the strongest displays of the year, yet they are difficult to observe. The main…
Tag Archive: Southern Taurids
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.
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.
Viewing the Ursid Meteor Shower in 2020
Location of the Ursid (URS) radiant on December 21/22, looking slightly east (right) of due north. The Ursid meteor shower…
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.
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.
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.
Daylight Fireball over Central New York
A bright daylight fireball produced a loud boom over central New York on December 2nd, 2020 around 12:08pm EST. We received more than 150 reports about this event.
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.
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.
Viewing the Leonids in 2020
Paul Sutherland captured this Leonid fireball from Walmer, Kent, England, on 19 November 2017 at 02h29m09s UT. Credit Paul Sutherland…
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.
Fireball caught over the East Coast on Nov 8
The AMS received more than 280 reports so far about a fireball event that occurred over Connecticut on November 8th, 2020 around 19:22 EST (November 9th, 02:22 Universal Time). The AMS #2020-5441 event was mainly seen from the Connecticut & New York, but we also received reports from Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Québec.
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.
Meteor Activity Outlook for October 31-November 6, 2020
During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday October 31st. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun and lies above the horizon all night long. As this period progresses, the waning gibbous moon will rise later with each passing night, allowing a short period of dark sky between dusk and moon rise.
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.
Meteor Activity Outlook for October 17-23, 2020
Grant Tandy was photographing the Perseid meteor display from near Bend, Oregon, USA, when this bright meteor shot through the…
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...
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.
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.
Bright Fireball caught above Ohio
The AMS received more than 700 reports so far about a fireball event that occurred over Ohio on September 30th, 2020 around 10:24 Universal Time (06:24 EDT). The event was mainly seen from the Ohio but we also received reports from Washington DC, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Ontario.