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Meteor Activity Outlook for August 8-14, 2020

by - Aug 7, 2020 - 8

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Tuesday August 11th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises between 23:00 and midnight local daylight saving time (LDST on August 10/11) . This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the late evening hours, allowing a short but dark glimpse of the early August activity between dusk and moonrise.

Meteor Activity Outlook for August 1-7, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Monday August 3rd. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. This weekend the nearly full moon will set an hour prior to dawn, allowing a short but dark glimpse of the early August activity. By Thursday, the short, dark portion of night will have shifted to the evening sky in the hour following dusk.

by - Jul 31, 2020 - 1

2021 Meteor Shower Calendar

Our friends at the IMO just released their annual meteor shower calendar for 2021: everything you need to know about 2021 meteor activity in 28 pages.

by - Jul 28, 2020 -

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 25-31, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Monday July 27th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near midnight. This weekend the more active morning sky will be totally free of interfering moonlight. As the week progresses though, only the few hours just prior to dawn will provide dark skies.

by - Jul 25, 2020 - 2

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 18-24, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Tuesday July 21st. At this time, the moon is located near the sun and is invisible at night. The moon will be located near the sun during this entire period; therefore, meteor observations can be held at any time of the night without lunar interference.

by - Jul 17, 2020 - 5

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 11-17, 2020

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Monday July 13th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 0100 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the waning crescent moon rises later in the morning with each passing night. This allows the window of dark skies to increase as the week progresses. The most active hours just prior to dawn will have slight interference from moonlight but one can overcome this simply facing in a direction where the moon is not visible within your field of view.

by - Jul 10, 2020 -

Latest Major Fireball Events

Everyday, we receive reports about fireballs from all around the world. Here are some of the latest major Fireball Events (with at least 30 reports):

    Browse all events Report a Fireball

    Pending Fireball Reports

    We are currently investigating 143 reports about fireballs seen over AR, CA, PA, OR, MT, WA, CO, SD, TX, MA, NY, NJ, NC, UT, FL, GA, OH, VA, KS, LA, DE, WI, NM, MI, MN, ME, IL, AZ, VT, TN, HI, KY, MD, NE, MS, IN, MO, IA and NH.

    We are also currently investigating 152 reports from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Faroe Islands, France, United Kingdom, Croatia, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Philippines, Romania and South Africa.

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    Credit: Rene Z.

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    Credit: E. DeVries

    2018 was a pretty good year for AMS

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    Viewing the Southern Delta Aquariids in 2020

    by - Jul 8, 2020 - 4

    One good thing about a Perseid maximum with lunar interference is that it guarantees that two weeks prior that the Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) will peak under good conditions. Such is the case in 2020 when the last quarter moon will diminish the Perseid peak. The SDA's will peak on July 29th with a waxing gibbous moon setting just as the SDA radiant culminates in the southern sky.

    Meteor Activity Outlook for July 4-10, 2020

    by - Jul 4, 2020 - 1

    During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday July 5th. At this time, the moon is located opposite the sun and remains above the horizon all night long. As the week progresses the waning gibbous moon rises later in the evening with each passing night. This allows for some early evening meteor observing under dark skies. Unfortunately, this is also the time of the lowest meteor activity of the night.

    Meteor Activity Outlook for June 27-July 3, 2020

    by - Jun 26, 2020 - 3

    During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Sunday June 28th. At this time, the moon is located 90 degrees east of the sun and sets near 01:00 local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the waxing gibbous moon remains longer in the morning sky with each passing night. This narrows the opportunity to view meteor activity under dark conditions from many hours early in the period to almost nil late in the period.

    Meteor Activity Outlook for June 20-26, 2020

    by - Jun 19, 2020 - 1

    During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Monday June 22nd. At this time, the moon is located near the sun and it invisible at night. As the week progresses the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observing.

    Meteor Activity Outlook for June 13-19, 2020

    by - Jun 12, 2020 - 3

    During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Saturday June 13th. At this time the moon will rise near 02:00 local daylight saving time (LDST) and will remain in the sky the remainder of the morning. This will compromise late morning viewing but successful meteor observations can still be attempted if one keeps the moon out of their field of view. As the week progresses the waning crescent moon will rise later each morning, becoming less of a problem with each passing night.

    Two fireballs back to back over California

    by - Jun 11, 2020 - 16

    The AMS received over 110 reports so far about a fireball event that occurred over California (LA area) on June 10th, 2020 around 3:33 Universal Time (June 9th, 2020 08:33pm PDT). We also received nearly 90 reports about a similar event that occurred the next day North of San Francisco, CA. This second event occurred on June 11th 2020 around 03:51 Universal Time (June 10th, 2020 08:51pm PDT)