i looked up a date and i found april 21 2008.. i live in southern california can i se this meteor shower from any where here and if so what time the only info i found was (hour : 19 ) but i dont know if i could se it and in what direction... i really want to know because i want to propose to my girlfriend that day.. thanks everyone
2007-08-15 18:57:03 · 3 answers · asked by samE1 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Oh, gee you just missed one... August 12!
You need to find a really dark area... no street lights... etc....
2007-08-15 19:14:29 · answer #1 · answered by ♥♥The Queen Has Spoken♥♥ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lyrids/hour:19 means that the meteors originate in the constellation Lyra and that 19 Meteors/hour are predicted. Not a very spectacular sight I am afraid. And meteor showers are best seen during the hours after midnight. On top of all this, you need to be in a dark place. I am afraid that leaves out the L.A. Basin and the area around San Diego.
But I certainly endorse wholeheartedly the idea of using the beautifil night sky as a backdrop for a proposal ( most Astronomers I know are romantics at heart)
Since I do not know exactly where you live, I can only suggest in general terms a place and scenario that would suit the occasion.
The time: late winter/early spring,say March.
Time: 9 to 11PM
The place: This might be the tough one for you, depending on your location. There are plenty of beautifully dark places in SoCal. My all-time favourite is the Joshua Tree National Monument (I guess it's a Park now).But there are also dark places in the mountains around LA, just go to a site from which the LA basin Cannot be seen.
Why this time and place? While there are no Meteor showers going on at this time ( but you will still see a few of those) All the brightest stars visible from the northern hemisphere will be there in all their glory and even the milky way will be visible. The winter night sky is spectacular all by itself when viewed from a dark place, no meteor showers needed.
The reason I prefer the monument above all, is because it has spectacular scenery along with great skies.
Anyway, these are the kind of things I would suggest for your special occasion.
Good Luck!
Adolph
2007-08-15 22:06:03 · answer #2 · answered by Adolph K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that you were looking at information for the Lyrid meteor shower, and they were predicting 19 Lyrid meteors per hour. As we've been saying over and over, the best time to see meteors is after midnight on the date specified, no matter where you are located. The Lyrid shower will be visible when the constellation Lyra is above your horizon. On April 21 2008 Lyra will rise around 10 p.m. This is not a prominent meteor shower, and probably won't make a good backdrop to your proposal. Better to propose on December 14 (Geminids) or August 12 (Perseids)!
2007-08-16 01:33:03 · answer #3 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋