2023 Perseid Meteor Shower

[Christopher K.]

The Perseid meteor shower lasts this year roughly from 14 July to 1 September. Practically speaking, within forty kilometers of Baton Rouge one should look from 10 August to 14 August.

HRPO personnel are planning to have the facility open from 10pm to 2am on the peak night, which the American Meteor Society has determined to be 12/13 August. The waning crescent Moon does not rise until 3:45am on the 13th. The only government property in EBR Parish people are allowed to use for viewing this event is probably the Highland Road Park Observatory. HRPO is definitely the only BREC property on which people can be for the Perseids. The viewing session has no admission fee and all ages are allowed, although children under six should be watched carefully.

One should lie comfortably on the ground on a blanket or tarp that can get dirty. Alternatively, use a lawn chair or some other reclining chair. Most of the time, one should keep the head angled to a point about halfway to two-thirds from horizon to zenith.

General tips for viewing meteors include...
*Dress warmly. You'd be surprised how much body heat you lose while immobile outdoors (even in the summer).
*Do not consume alcohol of any sort. Even before consumption has given you a "buzz", it has hindered night vision.
*Do not allow your electronic device (flip phone, smart phone, tablet etc.) to glow in your eyes unless you can have it glow red and faint. There will be instructions inside the main building for toggling iPhones and Android to and from a red light display.
*Do not take your eyes off the sky! Even the slowest meteors are quite fast. Talk and socialize if desired, but everyone around should understand that searching for meteors is the priority.
*Do not break any laws or ignore any basic safety principles to increase the chance of seeing more meteor streaks; it's not worth it.

The Perseid radiant lies five-and-a-half degrees east-northeast of the Perseid Double Cluster and two-and-three-quarters degrees from Eta Persei, an M-class magnitude 3.8 double star. A few meteors seen during these mornings may be sporadic (not associated with any shower) or related to one of many minor showers happening simultaneously.

If you choose to view from your backyard, make advanced plans to extinguish your home's outer lights and to request that your neighbors do the same. If you have a civic or homeowners' association consider making a motion to adopt a policy to switch to and maintain full cut-off (FCO) lighting year-round; this will make your neighborhood perpetually "ready" for viewing meteors in the night sky.

Please do not go anywhere for which you've not been given permission, or anywhere that is unsafe.

[Christopher K.]

We all know that the heat index has been outrageously high for most of the days of these past three weeks. If you view the Perseids this year, stay hydrated and consider a battery-powered, single-person cooling device.

More information:
https://www.amsmeteors.org/2023/08/view ... r-in-2023/
https://www.astronomy.com/observing/see ... ve-eicher/

[Christopher K.]

The front gate and main building will be open at 9:50pm. Below is the NOAA forecast for HRPO's planned viewing time of 10pm to 2am...
precipitation potential, 0%
sky cover, 3%
relative humidity, 83%
temperature, 29˚C
heat index, 36˚C
surface wind, SW 8 km/h
Danko's Clear Dark Sky states that during HRPO's viewing time the transparency rating will be "average" (3 out of 5) and the seeing rating will be "good" (4 out of 5). HRPO will close at 2am. Local viewing conditions should be fine until about 2:30am, when the relative humidity exceeds ninety percent.

The 12 August 2023 rating is...
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
BAD

If we consider excessive heat (as well as antiquated and useless Daylight Time) causing the annual skygazing cycle to wind down around the middle of summer, then we can also consider the Perseid Meteor Shower to begin that cycle once more.

More information:
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/c ... or-shower/