The Westronomy Blog

A 2024 Perseid fireball over aurora and a smoky horizon QUADRANTIDS Lyrids Eta Aquariids Southern Delta Aquariids Perseids Orionids Leonids GEMINIDS 2024 was a challenging year for meteor observing. The Moon diminished most of the major shower maxima, and weather prevented me from covering most of them in any case. My first observing session wasn't until July 31st, when I observed a normal mix of Southern Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricornids, early Perseids, and sporadics. Perseid maximum on August 12th/13th featured smoky skies. I drove for a while and found a halfway decent spot. My best Perseid rate was 66 in one hour. The northern horizon featured an auroral display in the evening and morning twilight hours. I tried a couple of sessions during the Alpha Aurigids, to see if this shower might be more active than generally acknowledged. At least this year, that wasn't the case, with the shower producing about 3 meteors per hour on the mornings of August 31st and September 1st. ...

During 2023, I was able to get out on 12 different occasions to observe and count meteors. This is better than most years, and I attribute that to increased effort as well as some fortunate weather. The Moon didn't impact as many shower peaks in 2023 as in most years, so that was favorable. The good weather didn't always land on the exact peak date of the shower, so several of my sessions were away from the peak but while the shower was producing noticeable activity. The showers on my Major Meteor Showers of 2023 outlook that I didn't pursue were the Quadrantids and the Eta Aquariids, both wiped out by bright moonlight. As I'm working on my 2024 outlook and plans, I figured I would relive this past year. I submitted my observations to the International Meteor Organization when conditions permitted, and it turns out that I spent just shy of 34 hours counting meteors (and/or waiting for meteors to count 😀). I logged 1463 meteors during these sessions. I spent more time...

  A bright Geminid from the evening of December 14, 2023 This is still in DRAFT status. Check back soon if links or formatting are wonky. -WS Jump to Quadrantids , Lyrids , Eta Aquariids , Southern Delta Aquariids , PERSEIDS , Orionids , Leonids , Geminids It seems that fewer amateur astronomers are actively watching meteors/meteor showers these days. Meanwhile, there is still a lot of public interest, some from folks in rural areas who have a longstanding but casual relationship to the night sky and like to watch the Perseids or Geminids, and some from people who have never seen a meteor shower before but have seen something about an upcoming meteor shower in their news feed. My aim with this meteor shower outlook each year is to pinpoint the best times (if any) to watch the major meteor showers, and also to provide pointers about what to look for and how to increase the number of meteors you see and hopefully the satisfaction you receive from being out under the stars watching fo...