Summer Nights...

This morning the dogs woke me a little earlier than usual, and I was up, showered, and ready to take them for a walk just before 4 AM. At this time of year, that's just before the first hints of dawn start showing in our northeastern sky -- so the sky was still pitch-black (the moon had set hours previously).

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the first thing I noticed was the Milky Way splayed out across the sky, passing right over my head. Beautiful! And as I stood their gawking at it (with an uncomprehending puppy bouncing around on the end of a leash), I saw a meteorite flash briefly in the northwestern sky. A few seconds later, another one flashed in the northern sky. Over the space of the next few minutes, I counted six meteorites in total; one of them a "long trail" meteorite with a visible flame trail -- and even a smoke trail lit by dimly by the pre-dawn sun at higher altitude.

Getting back in the house, I looked up the meteor showers predicted for June. The Boötids reach their maximum in just two days:

Prior to 1998, only two definite returns had been detected, in 1916 and 1927, and with no significant reports between 1928 —1997, it seemed probable these meteoroids no longer encountered Earth. The dynamics of the stream were poorly understood, although recent theoretical modelling has improved our comprehension. The shower's parent Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke has an orbit that now lies around 0.24 astronomical units outside the Earth's at its closest approach. It was last at perihelion in 2002, and is next due in late 2008. Consequently, the 1998 and 2004 returns resulted from material shed by the comet in the past, and which now lies on slightly different orbits to the comet itself. Dust trails laid down at various perihelion returns during the 19th century seem to have been responsible for the last two main outbursts.

If you're an early riser, you might want to go outside and do a little observing the next couple of mornings!