mike37 Loc: Stirling, Scotland

Calling all space fanatics for this exciting event

hlmichel Loc: New Hope, Minnesota

Sounds like a great time. But ever since watching the day of the triffids, and Night of the Comet....well I stay indoors.

myts10 Loc: SE Ohio

And I just watched the movie "Earth Storm"!!

ngc1514 Loc: Atlanta, Ga., Lancaster, Oh. and Stuart, Fl.

It's the Perseid meteor shower and it turns up like clockwork every year. Thousands is probably a MAJOR over estimation since the ZHR - Zenith Hourly Rate - is about 100 meteors per hour or so. That's the number of meteors you might see if the radiant point was directly overhead and you could observe the whole sky.

If you actually count 30 an hour, it's a good show.

The Leonid Meteor Storm (as opposed to a Meteor Shower) was very good back around 2000 with some observers seeing over 3000 meteors per hour.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I'll be at Casey Key that night. I should be able to get some good shots on the beach.

mike37 Loc: Stirling, Scotland

I'll look forward to seeing your shots Mac.

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Mac, I hope you own one of the mansions out there, can I join you? Gary

Rathyatra Loc: Southport, United Kingdom

Will they be visible in the UK? We never seem to get good sightings of these phenomena - second question, will I be able to shoot with my canon T3i or my SX40. Here's hoping!!!

stonecherub Loc: Tucson, AZ

Don't get your hopes up. I live in Tucson where walking is best done in the early morning hours so I get up at 3:30 and start up Tumamoc Hill about 4. I have made all of the projected meteor showers in the past four years and have been "showered" with 2 - 3 - 4 sightings during my 2 hour peregrination. City lights hide the dimmer ones.

Get out of town if you can.

ngc1514 Loc: Atlanta, Ga., Lancaster, Oh. and Stuart, Fl.

The meteors are visible from most any point on the earth. They are best seen in the early morning hours as the part of the earth you are standing on is turning towards the direction of the earth's orbital motion. The earth is "sweeping up" meteors while in the early evening hours, the meteors have to catch up with the planet.

The best way to photograph meteors is to set the camera on a time exposure with a wide angle lens and point it towards the radiant point of the meteors or towards the northeast for the Perseids. Leave the shutter open for as long as you can without having light pollution obscure the stars. You will have to experiment to see how long an exposure your local area will allow. Then it's just a matter of luck. The darker your skies the better, but there is a difference between what the average person thinks are dark skies and what an astronomer considers dark.

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

Day to the Triffids?! Wow, you are either a fan of vintage books and films, or you been around for a while. I read the book when I was a teenager but have never seen the movie. The book was published in the 40's or 50's, so now you know that I have been around for a while.