Astronomy, The Sky and Outer Space

The Telegraph promised us a "fireworks display" but all we saw was a damp squib!

Sorry but because some of them (meteors) are so small you think your eyes are playing tricks with you. If you have an old fashioned camera, place it looking straight up and set the shutter constantly open for an hour. The picture should then show the meteors that you miss. ATB

Hi Midland Red, Hi all, Apparently, they are on show in the day time, but we cannot see them unless they arrive like the one in Russia recently. Our skies here in Holbrooks are cloudy at present, but the official forecast is for it to clear in the early hours. I am struggling to stay awake now, leave alone at two in the morning.

For anyone that saw the ISS go over just a short time ago there was also a cracking good shooting star (meteor) just after.

I saw the ISS last night but didn't see any shooting stars although I spent a couple of hours looking. Never mind, it was a nice night to be out anyway.

Hi all, Morgana has reminded me of some coming meteor showers. I have listed below the dates of the expected maximums, but meteors can be seen on most clear moonless nights. Most showers are named from the constellation that they centre on, so that is a guide as what direction to look. October 7, 2013 Draconids October 21, 2013 Orionids November 4-5, 2013 South Taurids November 11-12, 2013 North Taurids November 16-17, 2013 Leonids December 13-14, 2013 Geminids The most comfortable way to watch for meteors is on a warm night, where I am lying on a patio lounger totally relaxed. Sadly, not a feature of winter months. There is no simple answer to this. Astronomy is thought of as a safe hobby, provided we don't catch phenomena or fall off an observatory platform in the dark. Years ago, a college student upon seeing the full list of meteor showers asked if they were named after music groups.

Thank you Philip for all those other dates. You will have to get your fleeces out they will keep you warm You can always download this when looking out in space from the comfort of your home not sure it will pick the meteor shower up. HubbleSite or this WorldWide Telescope

Anyone know what happened to the telescope from the top of the Technical College in the Butts?

Hi Harrier, The group is now called "Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society" There is a lot of info about them on this link, including an appeal to stop the axing of the BBC's Sky at Night.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but the website heavens-above.com gives the exact time and position of upcoming ISS flypasts. You need to enter your position (I just typed Tile Hill) and then click on ISS for the next 10 days data. The brightness figure needs to be -2 or less to be visible with the naked eye, and of course it needs to be a cloud free sky. The site also gives similar times for the Chinese and Korean satellites but these are much fainter. There are also Iridium flares that can be very bright but require some luck as they are short lived. You may also be interested in the picture of Earth on this page (figure 2), taken by the Cassini orbiter over a billion km away beyond Saturn. You can't quite make out Coventry though.

Hi all Reports this morning of a bright meteor, travelling west to east over Coventry skies at 4.30am this morning.

Hi all Close encounter Tin hats again.

Hi all More tin hats again. Another close encounter

Hi all Tin Hat Time again