Perseids Shower Peak- best place to view from?

Fri 12 Aug 2022, 15:33

Malcolm, our preferred local spot for watching celestial phenomena (meteors, ISS, etc.) is in the field by the Ticknell Piece Road playground and skate park.

The Perseids generally radiate from the constellation Perseus which you will find in the NNE to NE in the earlier part of the evening.

I find the "Time and Date" website handy for this sort of information (among other useful stuff). The Perseid viewing times are here. You might have to select your city (Witney is closest in their list), but it will remember after that.

Fri 12 Aug 2022, 15:01

A point- if reclining in the back garden from which direction- north,south, east, west- will they be coming from? The Moon is southerly and heading southwest; east is blanked except for high angles by the house with two floors, north blocked close by two floor house, due east 15 foot of hedges… about a 35 degree cone of view. From which point of the compass will the particles come?

Thu 11 Aug 2022, 21:31

Tbh you shouldn't need to go far to see them, I've only ever gone as far as my garden and seen them despite streetlights and security lights which make other observing impossible. The issue this time is whether the moon will be too bright and if you're in an open space with no trees/buildings to strategically place in front of it you'll have more of a problem seeing meteorites.

Thu 11 Aug 2022, 20:18

If the clear skies last until the peak of the Perseids Meteor shower Saturday, which are the best "Dark Skies" spots really near Charlbury; and accessible with a modest drive from Charlbury to take our garden recliners to lie back and observe the show?

If the weather holds clear this might be a good opportunity to do so; warm nights, clear skies.

Someone recently mentioned Rollright Stones as a Dark Skies site. Anything closer not requiring quite a drive round our town?