Persieds

Firstly the Persied meteor shower which peaked on Saturday, but will be with us for a few days yet, look to the N E below Cassiopeia, the wonky w on its side. But looking to the north east should be enough. I think I saw one but that may have been wishful thinking. I have the same relationship with meteors as the bloke in the kit kat advert has with pandas, I look for ages and see nothing then look away and it’s Guy Fawkes Night. But you may have better luck; I’ve put a picture of one taken from space on the Radio Scilly Facebook page, and on the Scilly stars blog.

Persied shot from Space.

The planets are pretty much the same as last week, no Venus or Mercury, too close to the sun, and they have been joined by Saturn which now sets very soon after the Sun. Mars rises around 3 am but isn’t very far above before the predawn twilight blinks it out.

Jupiter is the only naked eye planet we have at the moment rising around midnight and blazing in the SE sky and very high in the South by dawn.

Uranus which is just naked eye visible and Neptune which isn’t are well up in the east and SE by midnight, but they are both very difficult to find, I did spot Uranus once but Neptune has always stayed elusive.

And that was your night sky for the week ending on the 706^th anniversary of William Wallace, Scottish being hung, drawn and quartered for high treason by Edward I of England. And recent research has confirmed that it was exactly like it was depicted in Braveheart.