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So when is the best hour to watch for the Perseid meteor shower?

Astronomers keep talking about the early morning hours of August 11, 12, 13... but how does one figure out the best hour to get up and watch? Also, what local time equates to 1:00 UTC? (Understand the concept of GMT, but UTC? HELP, Questionland!)

O my captain asked in Science & Math 9 months ago | Report

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  • Froggyskull_3_small
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    Meteor showers are best viewed between midnight solar time (which is approximately 1:00am when daylight savings is in effect) and twilight. This is because the earth has turned toward the space through which its passing during these hours, so the meteors are, in a sense, hitting the atmosphere the way bugs hit the windshield on the highway.

    This year, you'll have to contend with the full moon, which will wash out a lot of meteors. If you don't get far out from the city, the light pollution coupled with the moon will probably make for poor viewing.

    Matt from Denver answered in Science & Math 9 months ago | Report
    2 comments by Russ Campbell, NWEBS and Matt from Denver…
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  • Bike-scope_small
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    Perseid Meteor Shower Information via UW astronomy department:

    http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/balick/perseids.html

    stinkbug answered in Science & Math 9 months ago | Report
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  • Wa_usa_small
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    Steve Poole on KOMO said after midnight. I saw one about 12:15 AM last night.

    UTC is GMT.

    Greenwich Mean Time was deemed "un PC" a number of years ago and replaced with Universal Coordinated Time, inexplicably abbreviated UTC. This is also known, especially among pilots, as "ZULU" time.

    GMT = UTC = ZULU

    Seattle is UTC -8 hours.

    Bear in mind that UTC/GMT/ZULU also operates on a 24 hour cycle, so 1:00 means 1:00 AM UTC. There is no such thing as 1:00 PM UTC, that would be 13:00 UTC.

    So, to answer your question, 1:00 UTC = 5:00 PM in Seattle

    soundslikepuget answered in Science & Math 9 months ago | Report
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