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Perseid Meteor Shower

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sfby | 11:54 Wed 14th Aug 2013 | Science
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I stood in the garden last night (about 11 - perhaps a bit early?) to see if I could spot any signs of the meteor shower.

I didn't see what I expected (i.e. very quick, long streaks of light) - but I did see 3 separate bright orange dots which took about 20-30 seconds to travel from one horizon to the other (south - north).

Could these be part of the Perseids, or is it likely to be something else?

Thanks

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The lights were probably satellites in Earth orbit. To see meteors you need to make sure it is dark, 11pm is OK. and you need to give it a good 15-30 mins minimum to see any really. Unfortunately, due to the over hype of newsreports people expect fireworks :-(. However, it is still an amazing experience to see a bit of debris that has come from outer space hit the...
12:01 Wed 14th Aug 2013
That wasn't a meteor shower. It sounds more like Chinese lanterns to me
The lights were probably satellites in Earth orbit.

To see meteors you need to make sure it is dark, 11pm is OK. and you need to give it a good 15-30 mins minimum to see any really.

Unfortunately, due to the over hype of newsreports people expect fireworks :-(.

However, it is still an amazing experience to see a bit of debris that has come from outer space hit the Earth's atmosphere.

Youmay see a few tonight but they will be getting few and far between now, clear skies x
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Ah - satellites - hadn't occurred to me you could see those without binoculars etc.

I'll have a look at Star Walk before venturing out next time - thanks.
The orange light is the reflections off their solar panels. You may also get to see the ISS and Hubble with the naked eye as well if you're really lucky. I use 'Night Sky' on my iphone for watching them track around the globe - its great for seeing these and of course the planets and constellations that are in your sky at the time.

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Perseid Meteor Shower

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