Archive: Meteor Showers

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 3-9, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Friday July 9th. At that time the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. This weekend a bright crescent moon will illuminate the morning sky. Successful meteor watches can still be held at this time as long as you keep the moon well out of your field of view. As the week progresses the moon becomes thinner and less of a problem until it disappears entirely into the morning twilight late in the period.

by - Jul 2, 2021 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for June 19-25, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday June 24th. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours allowing a few hours of viewing meteor activity under a dark sky between moon set and dawn. This window of opportunity shrinks with each passing night and by midweek the time of moon set and dawn will be simultaneous.

by - Jun 18, 2021 - 2

Meteor Activity Outlook for June 12-18, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Friday June 18th. At that time the half-illuminated moon will set near 01:00 local daylight time (LDST), allowing the more active morning hours to be free of interfering moonlight.

by - Jun 11, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 29-June 4, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Wednesday June 2nd. On this date the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 02:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will create difficult conditions for view meteor activity the remainder of the night.

by - May 29, 2021 - 14

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 22-28, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Wednesday May 26th. On this date the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, leaving a small opportunity to view in dark conditions between moon set and morning twilight.

by - May 21, 2021 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 15-21, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Wednesday May 19th. On this date the half-illuminated moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 2:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the early evening hours and will not interfere with meteor observing.

by - May 14, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 8-14, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Tuesday May 11th. On this date the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours but will not interfere with meteor observing as it will be too thin and only in the sky an hour or two prior to sunrise.

by - May 7, 2021 -

Viewing the Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower in 2021

In 2020, the full moon coincided with the shower's maximum and the display was muted. This year, conditions are better as the much less bright waning crescent moon will be located 10 degrees south of the radiant at maximum activity.

by - May 3, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for May 1-7, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Monday May 3rd. On this date the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 2:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early morning hours and will spoil any observing attempts once it has risen. As the moon reaches its last quarter phase, the glare will not be so bad and successful meteor observations can be conducted if you keep the moon out of your field of view.

by - Apr 30, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 24-30, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday April 26th. On this date the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. During this entire period the moon remains above the horizon while the sky is dark, severely limiting the opportunity to view meteor activity.

by - Apr 24, 2021 - 2

Viewing the Lyrids in 2021

The normal Lyrid display, seen under moonless conditions, usually offers a peak of around 10 meteors per hour in addition to the normal random meteor rate of about 5 per hour.

by - Apr 17, 2021 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 17-23, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Tuesday April 20th. On this date the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 03:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the waxing gibbous moon will encroach into the late morning sky, limiting the opportunity to view under dark skies.

by - Apr 16, 2021 - 1

Meteor Activity Outlook for April 3-9, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday April 4th. On this date the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 3:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the moon will rise later each night, providing a growing window of opportunity to view under dark skies between dusk and moonrise.

by - Apr 2, 2021 - 6

Meteor Activity Outlook for March 27-April 2, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday March 28th. On this date the moon is located opposite the sun and remains in the sky all night long. As the week progresses the moon will rise later each night, providing a small window of opportunity to view under dark skies between dusk and moon rise.

by - Mar 29, 2021 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for March 20-26, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Sunday March 21st. On this date the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 02:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the moon will interfere with the more active hours of the morning sky, especially toward dawn.

by - Mar 19, 2021 - 27

Meteor Activity Outlook for March 13-19, 2021

During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Saturday March 13th. On this date the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. Later in this period, a waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observing, especially during the more active morning hours.

by - Mar 12, 2021 - 29

Meteor Activity Outlook for March 6-12, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Saturday March 6th. On this date the half-illuminated moon will rise near 2:00 local standard time (LST) and will remain in the sky the remainder of the night. Lunar interference will decrease with each passing night as the moon’s phase wanes and the moon rises later each morning.

by - Mar 5, 2021 - 24

Meteor Activity Outlook for February 27-March 5, 2021

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday February 27th. This is the worst time of the month to view meteor activity as the bright moon will lie above the horizon all night long. Only the brightest meteors will be visible under such conditions, which will persist all week long.

by - Feb 26, 2021 - 13

Meteor Activity Outlook for February 20-26, 2021

During this period the moon waxes from half-illuminated to full. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, leaving the remainder of the night free of interfering moonlight. With each passing night this window of dark sky decreases until late in the period the moon will set at the start of morning twilight.

by - Feb 19, 2021 - 10