If you've been wanting to try night, star or meteor photography and you have a weather forecast for clear skies, tonight might be a good opportunity for you. The N. Taurid meteors shower isn't one of the most active showers of the year, but this is expected to be a better than average year for it.
Based on the current weather and forecast here, I might not have clear enough skies to catch the event tonight.
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Moon, Venus and a good year for the N. Taurid meteors this weekend | Tonight | EarthSky
2012 offers dark nights for watching the N. Taurid meteors, which peak this weekend. Plus, watch for Venus and moon before dawn!
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interesante
I know +Anthony A. Will be watching.
Thanks for the reminder! EarthSky is a great site, if you remember to check in.
for people interested in astrology
Leonidas just next week!
Cool!
Driving down the 5 FWY to SD about 00:30 and saw what I thought was ordinance being tested or some weird firework, just one short descending arc ending in a small explosion. Then I get home and see this. It was awesome. I should have made a wish!
This could be a particularly good year for the Taurids +Jack Kan:
"Activity lasts throughout October and November, with a broad maximum in early November. Observed rates are far from spectacular, but some observers report that the shower produces a good percentage of fireballs. Indeed a good number of bright Taurids were reported in 2005 and analyses by David Asher have supported the idea of a Taurid .swarm. that the Earth encounters every few years. If this swarm does indeed exist, it will encounter the Earth again in 2012.
Some Taurid activity will also be visible during the Orionid watches of October and the Leonid watches of November. The Taurid radiants are highest at around the middle of the night."
http://www.theastronomer.org/forthcoming_meteors.html
I just remembered to put my camera out, and there was a nice meteor overhead while I was setting it up. The Taurid meteor shower is near the top of my frame, and the radiant point of the Leonid meteor shower is just rising on the horizon in case there are a few early ones. The moon won't rise until 5:30 am and it's only a 9% crescent, so I'll have great conditions for the next 5 hours. I hope that my camera doesn't experience any issues from cold/frost.