Will the supermoon ruin the Perseids meteor shower?

Cobra

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A dramatic supermoon is set to accompany this year’s Perseid meteor shower, one of the most anticipated events on the skywatcher’s calendar.
Given a dark, clear sky in a normal year, it is common to see more than 100 of the meteors an hour during the second week in August.
But this year the Perseids have a bright shining rival - a larger and brighter moon.
  • Yearly meteor shower event could be ruined by brighter and larger moon
  • The Perseids will be visible from US and UK from Saturday to Wednesday
  • The meteors can also be viewed from elsewhere in the northern hemisphere
  • But this year the streaking balls of fire may be outshone by the supermoon
  • Supermoon occurs when full moon coincides with its closest point to Earth
  • However when the Perseids peak on Tuesday they should still be visible
 
I'm a saddo.
I'll be out looking...weather permitting :-)
 
The normal weather will sort all of that out.

As per usual whenever there is anything interesting astronomically, it will be cloudy! :banghead:

Last year I was on Tiree with no light pollution and, no, I didn't get to see any meteors in the three nights I was there. :runaway:
 
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Don't worry about the moon - the grey cloud and rain are forecast to take care of everything on Sunday. Monday isn't looking that much better

Make the most of tomorrow - it will be fairly close, but not full moon rising just before sunset
 
Last year, at the peak of the Perseids, I got out of bed at 2 am, grabbed my camera bag and walked up to this mound near the coast on what was the most clearest cleanest night in ages. The night sky was stunning with the stars twinkling away, but after three hours of freezing my butt off (it can get surprisingly cold at nght in August) I felt rather underwhelmed by it all even though I did get to see a few streaks. After that, I vowed not to get that excited about it again.

However, here is a REAL Supermoon . . .

Supermoon.jpg
 
Simple answer is yes and no, you should still be more than able to see the brighter meteors however a full to near full moon is never optimal for the best view, naturally a super moon is going to be that little worse :(
 
Cobra said:
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Given a dark, clear sky in a normal year, it is common to see more than 100 of the meteors an hour during the second week in August.
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Yeah right. From Galloway maybe, or the Utah desert, but the astronomers' definition of "dark sky" is way, way darker than most of us will ever experience without making a special effort.

Plus, 100 meteors per hour in the sky does not equal 100 meteors per hour seen by one person. You need an organised team of observers, or an all-sky camera, to get that many.

Plus, it's a full moon. Probably better waiting for the October Orionids, or the November Leonids (both of which coincide with new moons this year) or maybe even the December Geminids.
 
StewartR said:
Yeah right. From Galloway maybe, or the Utah desert, but the astronomers' definition of "dark sky" is way, way darker than most of us will ever experience without making a special effort.

Plus, 100 meteors per hour in the sky does not equal 100 meteors per hour seen by one person. You need an organised team of observers, or an all-sky camera, to get that many.

Plus, it's a full moon. Probably better waiting for the October Orionids, or the November Leonids (both of which coincide with new moons this year) or maybe even the December Geminids.
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All solid advice there :thumbs: I lost count of the night I've spent out in the cold hoping to shoot meteors and lost the entire night to cloud :( seems for me and seeing celestial events is nearly always destined to be a jinxed affair
 
StewartR said:
Yeah right. From Galloway maybe, or the Utah desert, but the astronomers' definition of "dark sky" is way, way darker than most of us will ever experience without making a special effort.
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I think you are out of date ;)

The largest dark sky area in Europe is just up the road in Northumberland.
 
Dave1 said:
I think you are out of date ;)

The largest dark sky area in Europe is just up the road in Northumberland.
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Do you not get light pollution from Newcastle and Edinburgh?

Up Loch Lomond and in Glencoe is great for watching sky provided you get a clear evening.
 
daugirdas said:
Do you not get light pollution from Newcastle and Edinburgh?

Up Loch Lomond and in Glencoe is great for watching sky provided you get a clear evening.
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Northumberland has the largest Dark Sky park in Europe.

Today (Monday, 9 December, 2013) England's spectacular Border county has been named as home to the largest area of protected night sky in Europe.

The International Dark Skies Association (IDA), based in Tucson, USA, has granted Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status to the combined areas of Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park – covering nearly 1,500 square kilometres of breath-taking scenery between Hadrian's Wall and the Scottish border.

The new zone - which will be called the Northumberland Dark Sky Park (NDSP) - is the first of its kind in England and one of the largest in the world, joining the likes of Death Valley and Big Bend Dark Sky Parks in the USA. Gold tier designation is the highest accolade that the IDA can bestow.

Working with councils, residents, businesses and tourism agencies, the two year campaign to achieve the prestigious status has been spearheaded by Northumberland National Park Authority, Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust and Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society.
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http://www.northumberlandnationalpa...gest-dark-sky-park-unveiled-in-northumberland
 
As Exmoor has dark sky status, I went there for last years Perseids. There was still light pollution from some near by villages, which was annoying. I saw a reasonable number of shooting stars but as it was my first time doing astrophotography I was a bit derp.

But this year I'm not sure where I'll be going as I'm not sure if I fancy the drive back at 3am again. I might head out towards Glastonbury way to one of the nature reserves and hope that none of the near by villages are giving off too much pollution..

From what I can see of the weather it seems like it might be partially cloudly. Hopefully that doesn't cause too much of a problem :arghh:
 
StewartR said:
Yeah right. From Galloway maybe, or the Utah desert, but the astronomers' definition of "dark sky" is way, way darker than most of us will ever experience without making a special effort.
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Dave1 said:
I think you are out of date ;)

The largest dark sky area in Europe is just up the road in Northumberland.
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I guess I could be out of date. Last time I looked, Kielder wasn't "just up the road" for most of us. Have they moved it, or something?
 
StewartR said:
Dave, would you like me to explain what "most of us" means?
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I never mentioned "most of us", I just commented it was "just up the road" (as it is from my perspective) without any qualification for where you are, or where anyone else might be.

It's an easier drive than Utah for anyone in the UK though ;).
 
Alisonfd said:
When it says first of its kind, what is it exactly referring to? The dark sky status? As Exmoor received that in 2009 and was the first in Europe.. o_O
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No idea, perhaps the size, or the fact it also has an observatory?

I suppose if you want to get the factual answer rather than guesses you should ask them.

Frances Whitehead, Communications Officer
Northumberland National Park Authority

Email: communications@nnpa.org.uk
Telephone: 01434 611542
Fax: 01434 611692
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New to this so any tips on settings to capture the super moon if clouds permit?
 
AdamTudor said:
New to this so any tips on settings to capture the super moon if clouds permit?
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Yep. Don't bother. The moon is much more photogenic when it's in a crescent phase. When it's full, the sun is overhead so there are no shadows.
 
StewartR said:
Yep. Don't bother. The moon is much more photogenic when it's in a crescent phase. When it's full, the sun is overhead so there are no shadows.
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err moonrise can be shot just like sunrise, taking to account low light and the movement of the moon. In my books it is manual exposure blending of a three fairly extreme exposures. A telephoto shot of a moon with some landmarks could have a lot of drama in it. Definitely well worth a go, if you are lucky not to have thick cloud overhead.
 
I can see the moon over the houses out the back of me right now,
and if that's a super moon, well, quite frankly its disappointing :(
 
Cobra said:
I can see the moon over the houses out the back of me right now,
and if that's a super moon, well, quite frankly its disappointing :(
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You weren't expecting it to be massively different were you?
 
It's certainly bright here.
 
The only shower visible from my house right now is a ****** heavy rain shower :(
 
Cobra said:
I've seen much bigger TBH.
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Still cloudy here anyway :lol: but I've seen it look way bigger in the past than any super mood I've ever seen, besides shooting it at 500 plus a 2x TC is a real PITA anyway as the moon zips right through frame :(
 
Welp, I wasted my time. I went to Exmoor as the skys over here were cloudy.

I saw a normal looking sized Moon, and I counted to about 50 shooting stars before I lost count, But it started raining at about midnight, so I returned to the car. I was going to try and wait it out a bit but figured I'd come back home as I couldn't be bothered anymore.
The moon was really small in comparison to some moons I've seen. There was a bigger one over Newport a few months ago :/

I think I'll try again for Perseids on Wednesday but I'll just stuck to somewhere near by where I can sit in the car rather than freeze to death.
 
Nice, it does look bigger there than it did where I was. I guess it helps having the skyscrapers etc to compare it to. Looks bigger than most of the buildings :P All I had was some trees :/
 
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