perseids

Thanks for the heads-up, Sharon. Snagged a zipcar for the night of the 12th; anyone want to chime in here with the best (clearest, fewest people) decently close to SF viewing? Say 4 hours away tops.

Edit: Emigrant, I think, mosquitoes be damned.

http://www.observers.org/observing-sites

You may want to contact a local group. If you have never had the opportunity to view deep sky objects in a dark environment with a quality scope it is a real treat.

I just got back from Emigrant last week and the mosquitoes were fine.

Check area forest fires as well as the weather reports–smoke does not add to your viewing clarity!

Hoot, thanks for the tip — I've bookmarked that page for the next chance I get.

Kevin, that's a relief; I gave them about two pints in June. They're cut off.

Mary, Wundergound says clear Monday night. Fingers crossed.

Cool. Thanks for the heads up. We'll be in the Alps on the Italian/ Swiss border so there should be good viewing conditions.

Last year I was able to enjoy it from my backyard,but looks like there's a chance of rain this weekend. I've heard they're already beginning so I'm going out in the morning for the next couple of days while the skies are clear and early next week too.

Okay, that was AMAZING, and totally worth the drive from SF. Found a private plateau just south of Chewing Gum lake with a decent view… saw fifteen or so meteors before conking out at 1AM, the best of which left trails across 3/4ths of the entire visible sky. Thanks again for the heads-up, Sharon.

My wife and I made a quick 2-mile drive from our house up to a ridge line, hiked up for 10 minutes, set up our camp pads, pulled out our quilt and mummy bag, and enjoyed the show. We saw about 8-10 meteors, all from 10:00 pm to 11:45 pm on Sunday night. The best one–which shot halfway across the sky–was in the first five minutes. I will definitely watch the show again next year!

This was my bivy setup for the Perseids saturday night up at Iceland lake

I too saw 2 REALLY good ones and probably 20 smaller