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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / Science and Technology => Topic started by: blobrana on August 11, 2004, 08:03:30 PM

Title: Day of the Triffids
Post by: blobrana on August 11, 2004, 08:03:30 PM
   Hum,

Remember today/tomorrow the meteor shower starts...

See Realplayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/triffids/realmedia/dayofthetriffidstitle.ram) Clip
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: PMC on August 11, 2004, 08:44:52 PM
Quote

blobrana wrote:
   Hum,

Remember today/tomorrow the meteor shower starts...

See Realplayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/triffids/realmedia/dayofthetriffidstitle.ram) Clip


Thanks Blob,

You've just reminded me of two important things, firstly to watch for shooting stars tonight (and make some wishes), and also that I mustn't forget to water Albert (my spider plant).

Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: Cyberus on August 11, 2004, 09:10:45 PM
Your plant has a name?

I remember one of my old school friends had a plant he called Linda






Lynda La Plante

[he had, and still has, a terrible sense of humour]


And then, it had a 'baby' growing in the same pot that he called Harry. Until I came round and pointed out that the 'baby' was in fact a weed :lol:


BTW, I remember Day of the Triffids being the first thing that ever scared me on TV (well, I was about 3 at the time). I have the book somewhere, never read it though....
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: PMC on August 11, 2004, 09:15:58 PM
Well yeah, just sayng "I'm going to water the plant" sounds so impersonal, so I christened it Albert.  

An old college mate of mine had a plant called "Emily", if my  memory is correct that was a type of weed too...
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: JaXanim on August 11, 2004, 09:23:09 PM
@blobrana

Yea, and it's heavy cloud and rainy tonite --- of course it is, I knew it would be!

Just as it is each and every time something interesting happens. Dooh...!

JaX

PS: Still you can listen in to Perseid radio signals at Space Weather (http://www.spaceweather.com) if it's too mucky to see anything.



Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: Cyberus on August 11, 2004, 11:20:43 PM
Quote

An old college mate of mine had a plant called "Emily", if my  memory is correct that was a type of weed too...


I wonder if his memory is correct? :-)
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: Cyberus on August 11, 2004, 11:22:03 PM
Quote

JaXanim wrote:
@blobrana

Yea, and it's heavy cloud and rainy tonite --- of course it is, I knew it would be!

Just as it is each and every time something interesting happens. Dooh...!

JaX

PS: Still you can listen in to Perseid radio signals at Space Weather (http://www.spaceweather.com) if it's too mucky to see anything.



Yeah, its peeing down here at the moment :-(
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: blobrana on August 12, 2004, 12:48:36 AM
@JaXanim
Tnx for the link, - but got it already on my site...

Yeah the latest satellite pictures don't  look too good
See (in infrared) (http://www.met-office.gov.uk/satpics/latest_ir.jpg)

Had to resort to the webcams... everywhere else has clear skies...!!!

(Except in in Florida where there's two massive storms about to strike - Hurricane Bonnie and Charley)
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 08:49:14 AM
@Blob

I missed the show as East Anglia was well and truly clouded over last night, a real shame considering I try and make a habit of watching out for meteors this time of year.

I saw a great display back in '95...
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: blobrana on August 12, 2004, 11:33:36 AM
Hum,
Yeah, same here...
...nothing better than  getting out into wilderness on a warm night, building a campfire, and relaxing back to watch a Great display...(with perhaps a live jazz band playing in the background...worth remembering...

but perhaps tonite...
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 11:36:59 AM
@Blob

That sounds good to me, I remember back in '95 when me and a couple of mates were lying on a grassy bank in the middle of nowhere during a very warm night watching meteors shooting across the sky seeing who could count the most.

Make sure you remember to make a wish too....
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: odin on August 12, 2004, 08:32:03 PM
I saw a falling star about a week ago in the mountains in Norway at a small cabin, sitting outside trying to get roundabout thoughts about a certain female out of my head.....

I made a wish allright.....

*sigh*
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 10:04:51 PM
@Odin

Hehe, we're such a bunch of hopeless romantics on this site aren't we?

I seem to remember making a similar wish on that sultry evening nine years ago....

*sigh*

Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: odin on August 12, 2004, 11:05:09 PM
If only she's reply to my emails..... :-(. Oh well, luckily there's still another 2,49*10^9 females left on the planet...
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 11:14:23 PM
Haha!

Luckily there's more shooting stars....

Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: blobrana on August 12, 2004, 11:16:55 PM
Hum,
is a meaningful relation with your amiga not enough?

my amiga called is called Douglas...PMC has  Albert ...

anyone else got names for their `companions`?
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 11:18:13 PM
Seriously Odin,

Best of luck dude...  I hope the lady in question is worth it.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: odin on August 12, 2004, 11:21:33 PM
@blob:
Heh, actually I tend to call my A1200 Sleipnir :-).

@PMC:
Oh yes......those eyes..........
Slight problematic detail, she lives in Budapest.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 11:23:16 PM
Well, I found suitably stmospheric music (Oxygene, c/o JM Jarre) for shooting star spotting.  Unfortunately the weather has other ideas.

@Blob,

Did you really call your Amiga "Douglas"????  

Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: PMC on August 12, 2004, 11:30:03 PM
Quote

odin wrote:
@blob:
Heh, actually I tend to call my A1200 Sleipnir :-).


I have to be completely unoriginal and confess mine's called "Amy".  Haven't yet named the Alfa Romeo or the mountain bike hehe.

Quote

@PMC:
Oh yes......those eyes..........
Slight problematic detail, she lives in Budapest.


Jeez dude, you like complications?  If she's worth it then good luck to you...  How did you meet?

I think I'll be making a wish on your behalf at this rate.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: blobrana on August 12, 2004, 11:55:33 PM
superb,
"Sleipnir carries Odin between the world of the Gods and the world of matter."

That`s a great name, that epitomizes the essence of the amiga...

(http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/symbols/sleipnir2.jpg)



Douglas is a fine scottish name that means, er, dark murky water...
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: gizz72 on August 13, 2004, 12:49:22 AM
Greetings,
@Odin
Good luck with her! :-) I'm sure you'll find a lot of good time and great dating spots there at Budapest, if you're visiting there and granted your wish came true. :-D

@All

Gee I havn't thought of a name for my Amiga... My pet cat always chase my mouse. He loves to play with my Amiga's mouse.... :-D

Ahhh I'll call my Amiga... 'Jeri'..

BackOnTopic: I just missed those showers back then, I think last June, cause it was cloudy at that time. :-(

Regards

Gizz
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: PMC on August 13, 2004, 02:05:07 PM
Well although it was cloudy last night I made a wish on Odin's behalf....

How long does the perseid shower last for?  I'm hopeful of better weather at the weekend.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: blobrana on August 13, 2004, 02:47:32 PM


 It lasts until the 20th (http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/blobrana/news/augustmeteor.html), but the `rate` has fallen off considerably (though you may be lucky and the earth  strikes another dense patch)

Here’s a link and plug for Distant Suns (http://www.distantsuns.com/).
And VWorlds30.lha (http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/misc/sci/VWorlds30.lha) that will help you visualise the celestial paths ;) (it works great in winuae too)





Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (and mushy stuff)
Post by: odin on August 13, 2004, 02:48:21 PM
Appreciated, PMC. As for how long the shower will continue: dunno really. All I could find after a few minutes of browsing was the message that it peaked 12th and 13th of August.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (the revenge)
Post by: blobrana on August 11, 2005, 06:10:41 PM
Yes,
its that time of the year again...

Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colourful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the Perseid meteor shower, there is always one night that is best. This year, its tonight!

Unfortunately the Weather in Scotland is predictably cloudy…

So I’ll have to make do with just listening to the forward scatter radar web feed from Huntsville, (yes, Alabama)

LISTEN CAREFULLY (http://science.nasa.gov/audio/meteor/forward-scat.m3u)
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (the revenge)
Post by: PMC on August 11, 2005, 08:42:49 PM
Hmmm (hum!?) radar feed takes all the romance out of meteor spotting.

It's disappointing that the weather conspires against a metoer storm yet again.

@Blob,

Slightly O/T but I was outside a couple of weeks back staring at a moonless sky.  I could make out a faint point of light moving across the sky at high speed....  Could it have been a satellite or something man made?  Are artificial satellites visible from the ground?
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (the revenge)
Post by: odin on August 11, 2005, 10:13:01 PM
Yeah, low flying (floating?) satellites and stuff can be visible under favourable conditions (in daylight only?). I think I saw a shuttle once.
Title: Re: Day of the Triffids (the revenge)
Post by: blobrana on August 11, 2005, 10:53:28 PM
hum,
yeah,
it surprisingly crowded up there, so you’ll tend to see a `star` (satellite) moving once every 15 minutes or so, and that’s not counting the fainter geostationary satellites.

Not that I tend to look for them, (in a train spotter stylee), but I am pleased that I can spot something manmade up there – it just brings the reality of space a bit closer to earth….

@odin
>>shuttle

Cool...
you may want to peruse this site (http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eph) for other stuff to look out for...

The next launch is for the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter
tomorrow...



 
Title: The Perseid meteor shower
Post by: blobrana on August 12, 2007, 06:38:34 PM
The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight. Look to the north east on  Sunday, Aug. 12th, at around 10 pm local time as the constellation Perseus rises. Expect to see a meteor every few minutes.
The best viewing will be  after midnight and when the constellation is highest in the sky.
The tiny bits of space sand are going to hit the Earth atmosphere at speeds of 66 km/sec  so the meteors are going to be quick and bright, especially since there  is a new moon.
Title: Re: The Perseid meteor shower
Post by: blobrana on August 11, 2008, 04:04:46 PM
This year the Perseid maximum (http://astronomy.activeboard.com/index.spark?forumID=58381&p=3&topicID=3612730&commentPage=3) is due between 11:30 -14:00 UT on the 12th August.
The Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHRs) is predicted to be around 80-100.
For UK observers the Moon is waxing gibbous, and will set around midnight.