This picture is a virtual image of the New York City skyline as it looks at this very moment.

Hints

Did you know in stats column to the right of the bar map you can see the highest rated and most viewed bars in any neighborhood?

Perseids Meteor Shower

The peek of the event
August  2009
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
 
 
 
 
 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

The strength of a meteor shower is measured in zenithal hourly rates (ZHRs), or the number of meteors visible in an hour of viewing.  The Perseid shower radiates from the  comet Swift -Tuttle, and in the early 90s it was as close to earth as it had been for the last 120 years, as a result the Perseids meteor shower was the one to beat. In 1991 it blew away viewers with rates of over 400 ZHR, about 1 meteor every 10 seconds. Since then its settled down a bit, as Swift - Tuttle moves farther away from earth. Nevertheless the Perseids is by far the best show of the summer (The Leonids is the big winter storm), and ZHRs of 100 or more can and do happen, and you can expect to catch at least one falling star a minute if you're in a good viewing area.

The problem is you live in New York City, and while that may be good for just about most every activity you might want to engage in, astronomy isn't one of them. Your best bet is going to be to get up before dawn (since the light of the moon this year is going to cause problems).


As far as viewing locations go its going to be tough but your best bets are these:


  • Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Head right to the middle of it and you should be far enough from the surrounding ambient light to get a pretty decent view.

  • Coney Island or Brighton beach. The ambient light around here isn't too bad and to the East all you've got is ocean. Plus laying on your back in the sand watching a meteor shower, maybe drinking some wine, is a good way to do it.

  • If it's too much work for you to leave Manhattan, than all you've got is Central Park. Get up before sunrise and join the scores of insane joggers. It won't be ideal, but you'll definitely catch a few.

    •  

     

    If you register and invite friends you can share your favorite events with your friends.