Activity Outlook

During this period the moon reaches it last quarter phase on Sunday December 18th. The half illuminated moon is still very bright and must be kept out of your field of view for successful meteor observations. During this period, the evening hours, which are unfortunately much less active with meteors, will be completely free of any interfering moonlight. As the week progresses the moon will wane in phase and will rise approximately forty-five minutes later with each passing night. With this scenario, viewing conditions during the more active morning hours will improve with each passing night.

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday December 10th. At this time the moon will lie above the horizon the entire night and will severely impact meteor observing by obscuring all but the brightest meteors. As this week progresses the moons phase will wane and it will rise approximately forty-five minutes later each night. Toward the end of the week there will be a window of opportunity to view evening activity under dark skies between the end of dusk and moon rise. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is near two as seen from the northern hemisphere and one as seen from the southern hemisphere.

During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Thursday November 25th. At that time the moon will lie near the sun and will not be visible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will be a nuisance in the late morning sky but will not inhibit meteor watching. If the moon is above the horizon simple face in a direction in which it lies outside of your field of view. The moon will be less of a problem with each passing night as it approaches the sun. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is near four as seen from the northern hemisphere and three as seen from the southern hemisphere.

September offers longer nights in the northern hemisphere that tend to be less hazy than those experienced in mid-summer. In the sky, no major showers are visible from either hemisphere but the northern hemisphere enjoys the advantage of higher sporadic rates. Most of the shower activity this month is produced from the Perseus-Aurigid complex active this time of year. These showers rarely produce more than five meteors per hour but still manage to produce most of the shower activity seen this month.

During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Tuesday September 27th. At this time the moon will lie near the sun and will not be visible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the late morning hours but will not interfere with meteor observing. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is near four as seen from the northern hemisphere and three as seen from the southern hemisphere. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near eleven as seen from mid-northern latitudes and six from mid-southern latitudes.

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Tuesday September 20th. At this time the moon will lie ninety degrees west of the sun and will rise near 0100 local daylight time (LDT) as seen from mid-northern latitudes. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will interfere with meteor observing during the morning hours. Skies will be dark during the early evening hours until moon rise, which will occur during the late evening hours. It would be better to wait until later this week to view meteor activity, when the moon becomes less bothersome.