APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

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APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by APOD Robot » Thu Aug 10, 2017 4:08 am

Image Night of the Perseids

Explanation: This weekend, meteors will rain down near the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Normally bright and colorful, the Perseid shower meteors are produced by dust swept up by planet Earth from the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle. They streak from a radiant in Perseus, above the horizon in clear predawn skies. Despite interfering light from August's waning gibbous moon, this year's Perseids will still be enjoyable, especially if you can find yourself in an open space, away from city lights, and in good company. Frames used in this composite view capture bright Perseid meteors from the 2016 meteor shower set against a starry background along the Milky Way, with even the faint Andromeda Galaxy just above center. In the foreground, astronomers of all ages have gathered on a hill above the Slovakian village of Vrchtepla.

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Ann » Thu Aug 10, 2017 4:54 am

Nice picture, but can someone help me? The Milky Way seems strangely "upside down" to me, and I can't see all of Cassiopeia. I think I have found Gamma Cas, a nice blue and very hot star, but I don't know about Alpha and Beta Cas, Schedar and Caph.

Here is another portrait of the northern Milky Way which is similarly "upside down", and that one is annotated, too. But I still can't see the full outline of Cassiopeia in today's APOD!
Cassiopeia "upside down", looking like an M instead of a W.
Photo: Tom Matheson.
Here is a picture of constellation Cassiopeia. I hope the picture isn't too large, but I fear it might be.

The stars I can't find in today's APOD are the two leftmost ones.

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Joe Stieber » Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:57 am

Ann,

I did a quickie labeled version of the picture...

http://wasociety.us/2016_08_06_Perseids ... -label.jpg

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Ann » Thu Aug 10, 2017 10:04 am

Joe Stieber wrote:Ann,

I did a quickie labeled version of the picture...

http://wasociety.us/2016_08_06_Perseids ... -label.jpg
Thanks, Joe! :D :clap:

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Tszabeau » Thu Aug 10, 2017 1:41 pm

I can't quit make out what the array of things are in the lower right foreground. It looks like an array of light patterned by lantern struts or something among a trash heap of oversized beer cans strewn about on the ground but... then again I don't see what might be causing the interference pattern and I've never seen beer cans that large.
Oh... the meteor trails are nice too.

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Steven I Dutch » Thu Aug 10, 2017 1:56 pm

This is just irresponsible. It perpetuates the myth that meteor showers are like fireworks displays. How many people go out expecting to see something like this and conclude that science doesn't know what it's talking about?

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:10 pm

Steven I Dutch wrote:This is just irresponsible. It perpetuates the myth that meteor showers are like fireworks displays. How many people go out expecting to see something like this and conclude that science doesn't know what it's talking about?
This is a wonderful image which clearly demonstrates the concept of a radiant. I see no reason that APOD should aim for the lowest common denominator of viewer, unable or unwilling to read the caption and think about what is being shown.
Chris

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by heehaw » Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:17 pm

Steven I Dutch wrote:This is just irresponsible. It perpetuates the myth that meteor showers are like fireworks displays. How many people go out expecting to see something like this and conclude that science doesn't know what it's talking about?
Before I read that remark I looked at the APOD and I thought about what it showed, and about what it doesn't show. It shows an inconceivably biased image of "what's really there" - above all, no trace whatsoever of the dark matter (not to mention the dark energy!). Why would anyone waste time looking at this utterly trivial froth, much less go out in the dark, just to see a few pathetic streaks of light across the sky, caused by tiny grains of dust disintegrating? Hey, Dutch, we do it because we are human, and it is neat! Wake up and smell the roses!

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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by Boomer12k » Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:25 pm

Really nice.... too smokey here...hard to even see Saturn. The Moon is a bit "Orangy" even high in the sky.

The Dark Matter Squirrels conspire against my viewing pleasure....
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Re: APOD: Night of the Perseids (2017 Aug 10)

Post by ta152h0 » Thu Aug 10, 2017 9:57 pm

maybe they can be called " iguanas "
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