Possible Strong Meteor Shower: May 30-31

Mark Egan

EF0
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Jul 13, 2017
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41
Location
Frisco
The Tau Herculid meteor shower, normally very weak, MAY have a strong outburst on the night of May 30-31. Peak time is predicted centered around midnight Central time (on 5/31)

It would be best to watch for at least a couple of hours centered on the peak time, just in case.

If the show does happen, (big if):

the meteors will radiate from a point high in the east, but they should appear all over the sky

it may be a majority of faint meteors so I’d recommend being at least in the dark green zones on this map (blue, gray or black would be even better):

Light Pollution Atlas 2006, 2016 and 2020 - be sure to stay away from local light pollution sources

There are an increasing number of stories online about this, but some of them may be inaccurate, or coming from sources that are not reputable.

Here are some good sources to use:

https://www.rasc.ca/sites/default/files/publications/jrasc2021-apr-lr.pdf - the “Will Comet 73P” story by Joe Rao





If Monday ends up being a good chase day, and if the big meteor show happens, which one of you will get a picture of a lightning storm (with a sprite or two) and some meteors?

Good luck!
 
This was a very good show despite not reaching anywhere near storm status. I would say, for the couple hours I watched, it was up there with Perseids for volume.
 
I happened to be hauling a load through the Texas panhandle last night and saw a pretty impressive meteor looking north from where I was south of Dumas on 287. Aside from that, I didn't see a ton, but I also was driving all night and couldn't stop and admire. I wish I'd had my own dash cam running but I don't (company camera only records if there's an incident).
 
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