During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Wednesday November 27th. At this time the moon will be located near the sun and will be invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the morning hours but will not affect meteor observations as long as you keep it out of your field of view.
Well known meteor scientists Peter Jenniskens and Esko Lyytinen have predicted that there may be an outburst of the alpha Monocertoid meteor shower on the night of November 21/22, 2019.
During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Wednesday November 20th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise near 0200 local standard time. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise just before midnight, ruining the sky for meteor observers the remainder of the night. Only late in the period will the moon allow meteor observers to achieve decent limiting magnitudes during the morning hours. One could always view during the moonless evening hours but rates are low at this time.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday November 12th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon sets just before dawn allowing some observing before dawn to view under dark conditions.
During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Monday November 4th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 0200 local summer time. With each passing night the dark window between moon set and dawn shrinks so by next weekend there is little time for viewing in a dark sky.
At maximum activity the Taurid radiants are located in western Taurus near the well known star cluster called the Pleiades.…
During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Sunday October 27th. At this time the moon will be located near the sun and will be invisible at night. Late in this period the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observing.
The Orionids The Orionids, like all meteor showers, are named after the constellation in which they appear to come from,…
During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Monday October 21st. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise near 0200 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will interfere with morning observations. Evening skies will be dark until moonrise near midnight local summer time (LST). Conditions will improve with each passing night as the moon wanes and rise later during the morning hours.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday October 13th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and lie above the horizon all night long. Toward the end of this period there will be a moonless period of a couple of hours between dusk and moonrise. Unfortunately meteor rates at this time are very low.
During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday October 5th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 23:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the window of dark skies during the morning hours will decrease with each passing night.
During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Saturday September 28th. At this time the moon will be located near the sun and will not be visible at night. As the week progresses the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with viewing meteor activity as it sets long before the more active morning hours arrive.
Ross Phelps captured this beautiful scene of a fireball over water on July 24, 2019 from Piermont, New Hampshire USA.…
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday September 14th. This will be the worst time of the month to try and view meteor activity as the bright moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. Toward the end of this period the evening hours will be free of moonlight but rates during this time of night are low, seldom exceeding 5 meteors per hour.
During this period the moon’s phase waxes from just past its first quarter phase to nearly full. This weekend the moon’s phase will be a waxing gibbous that will set soon after midnight local daylight saving time (LDST). This is good timing as the more active morning hours will be free of moonlight. With each passing night this window of dark sky shrinks until the moon sets near the start of dawn late in the week.
During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Friday August 30th. On that date the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. This weekend the nearly half-illuminated moon will rise during the early morning hours. While the moonlight in the morning sky will be bothersome, successful meteor observations can still be undertaken by simply keeping the moon out of your field of view.
During this period the moon wanes from its full phase to nearly half illuminated. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will compromise the sky the remainder of the night. This is the worst time of the month to try and view meteor activity as the more active morning hours are completely swamped in bright moonlight.
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday August 15th. On that date the moon is located opposite the sun and lies above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, giving a small window of opportunity to view in dark skies while the moon is low in the west or below the horizon.
During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Wednesday August 7th. On that date the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near midnight local summer time. This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the late evening hours and will not interfere with viewing meteor activity.
The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is near 4 for those viewing from the southern hemisphere and 4 for those located north of the equator. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 17 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 14 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S) .
With the Perseids badly mooned in August, the summer highlights will occur in July when the alpha Capricornids (CAP) and…
American Meteor Society