At the weekend we had the maximum of the Perseid Meteor shower. The maximum was supposed to have occurred on the morning of Saturday 13th August but we didn't really have good clear skies until Sunday night. The moon at this time was only 2 days past full and so it was going to interfere with seeing the fainter meteors. I didn't do an official count but just went out to see what I could see. I was surprised to see quite a number (perhaps 10) over about an hour from about 11pm (BST). I also saw a few others which were either sporadics or other shower members. I think it helped that the moon was still rising at this time. I sat facing north east and perhaps the best meteors I saw passed through Ursa Major low over our house. There were three similar meteors that were pretty bright in this area with long trails. I suspect that they were all brighter than Jupiter (currently -2.7).
All text and images © Duncan Hale-Sutton 2022
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