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Post by kleftiwallah on Jul 18, 2021 20:36:45 GMT
Good eveing everybody, It's a bit warm innit?
Imagine doing pre-flight and after flight checks on jet aircraft in this heat. Well, been there done that in Oman, you have to be careful where you rest your hands (and posterior)
It's that time of year again folks. The Perseids should be visible for the next 6 weeks and the question is can these meteorits be filmed using a trail cam'? I've tried to Gurgle for an answer but they will answer about trail cam's and meteorites but not together! Des anyone have any info on the subject?
Cheers, Tony 
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Post by ianr on Jul 19, 2021 5:55:06 GMT
I don't know about trail cams I doubt it would work though. I did read a year or three back that some people were using security cams pointed upwards and just recording I guess  then edit the good bits, when's the peak? ian |
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Post by kleftiwallah on Jul 19, 2021 6:07:40 GMT
Good morning Ian, the peak activity is about 11th to the 15th of August.
No joy on the trail cam experiment I may try using my dashcam, you never know...
I did see a fox trying to "Chaw down" on one of the beloveds Yorkshire puddings!
Cheers, Tony
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Post by Tringa on Jul 19, 2021 13:53:07 GMT
I could be wrong but I think the only way a trail camera could, theoretically, record meteors is by accident.
I mean if some animal triggers the camera and a meteor happens to streak across the sky in the background of the view at the same time.
However, in reality I don't think a trail camera will be sensitive to record meteors.
If the weather is good at the peak time I'll have a look, but my success with observing meteor showers is, after many, many years, nil.
Dave
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Post by kleftiwallah on Jul 20, 2021 7:21:29 GMT
Good morning Dave,
I'm coming to the same conclusion about the sensitivity of trail cams.
I did see a spectacular fireball few years ago. It streaked across the sky bright green and I'm sure I heard a whooshing noise!
Ever hopeful... Cheers, Tony.
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Post by ianr on Jul 20, 2021 7:37:59 GMT
If the weather is good at the peak time I'll have a look, but my success with observing meteor showers is, after many, many years, nil. Dave NIL as in none at all? that's bad luck even here at home with all the light pollution I get to see them not many but a few. Tony years back when I was out all night with the TA we saw dozens and dozens some of the first really bright ones there were a few, lit the ground up so much we thought they were flares and we'd been caught, everybody hit the floor and yes you could here them whooshing over. Only seen one really bright multi second one since Talking of lights in the sky had a cracking view of the space station last night around 10 ian |
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Post by Tringa on Jul 20, 2021 8:26:59 GMT
Yes, Ian - nil.
I have seen quite a few meteors but they have all been sporadic ones. It always seems to be cloudy wherever I am around the peak of a meteor shower.
DAve
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Post by Psamathe on Jul 20, 2021 12:43:17 GMT
Moon is going to be "good" as in only 4-5 days after New Moon for the Perseids this year.
But before the Perseids we have the Delta Aquarids (28 July 2021) but those will not be so worth trying to watch as they are only 4 days after the Full Moon.
Last winter I spent some time doing time lapse of stars (wide angle) and was regularly recording meteors - not from any shower just general background stuff. So if we get some clear skies I'll give it a go this year.
Ian
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Post by Psamathe on Aug 23, 2021 12:32:28 GMT
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Post by Tringa on Aug 23, 2021 13:23:55 GMT
I think you should be well pleased with the results you achieved, Ian.
Dave
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Post by rowanberry on Aug 23, 2021 20:57:56 GMT
I agree... you've set yourself quite a challenge! I find trying to photograph the moon difficult enough- it's usually just an overexposed white ball.
Your first two are really impressive.
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Post by ianr on Aug 24, 2021 8:27:10 GMT
So I watched closely and didn't blink, that's when I fell of the chair Seriously though there really good I tried the other week to get a photo of Jupiter through my birding scope just wouldn't register on the camera viewer it's electronic and getting on a bit now, always been blurry in low light. Must try harder ian |
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Post by Psamathe on Aug 24, 2021 11:03:26 GMT
Many thanks for compliments. Although I didn't wait up with the camera (I wrapped it with a tea-towel and used one of my telescope dew heaters round the lens to keep the condensation away) and just left it going all night on a repeating self-timer.
But with even the Perseids I think expectations exceed reality - with all the PR they get (mainstream newspaper articles in the days before the peak) I suspect many expects a true fireworks display (I do!) - and then reality is not quite so dramatic.
Ian
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Post by Psamathe on Aug 24, 2021 11:14:54 GMT
.... I tried the other week to get a photo of Jupiter through my birding scope just wouldn't register on the camera viewer it's electronic and getting on a bit now, always been blurry in low light. ... It strange how some stellar objects seem to really appeal to different people. Jupiter is one of my favourites, probably as several years ago I was doing a University Astronomy course and one of the practical exercises was to measure the mass of Jupiter (really) - nothing like as hard or complex as it sounds. It takes a few weeks but you use Kepler's laws and the Galilean moons and it's great fun and amazing to do. You repeatedly measure the position of each of the 4 Galilean moons. I was doing it several times a night as many nights as possible over a few weeks. Easy to do using "low-tech" - I was looking through telescope with one eye and at a ruler held beside with the other eye and getting a type of double/superimposed vision effect and reading the mm from the rules (distance units don't matter) and with enough data inaccuracies are not a problem. The 4 Galilean moons are easy to see. Then once all data collected you fit a sine curve to each moon's data to get the orbital period and then use Kepler's laws. You do need to identify each of the moon's so data are collected for each moon separately (but that is easy using any of the planetarium apps - many free). Travelling a few years ago I met a Physics teacher from the US and that practical came up and she was amazed and I had to go through details as she thought it a fabulous project for her High School class. Other special target for me is M13 or any Globular Cluster - I think they are amazing. Ian |
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then edit the good bits,
