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EPA
The Perseid Meteor Shower is a wonderful annual event
We sit in the dark under the pine forests, with eyes to the air and fingers stiffly crossed.
All afternoon, the cloud cover has been solid and unbroken, but, unfortunately, the latest satellite image promises clearer skies to the west.
And last night that really mattered.
Because high above us, at the edge of the atmosphere, nature brings up one of its greatest light shows, is the Meteidouche of Perseid, which reaches its climax and gives a prime view on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday nights.
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Martin McKenna
Neowise’s comet was a vision in the sky above Northern Ireland
But at the moment we can not see any of it. Welcome to the world of night photography.
Special year for stargazers
The weather this summer has been a bit of a wet claw. But for stargazers, it has been a very special year.
Tonight I am joined by two of the very best in Northern Ireland, Alistair Hamill and Martin McKenna.
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Alistair Hamill
The skies have been producing some great scenes since the weekend
As early as 2020, they have observed displays of noctilucent clouds in the upper atmosphere and C / 2020 F3NEOWISE, the best comet sight in 30 years.
We are based at the OM Dark Skies Park and Discovery Center in Davagh, County Tyrone. Or rather we are based outside of it.
The new observatory operated by District Ulster District Council is not yet open to the public.
Finishing touches are applied to the screens inside after work has been delayed by the Covid-19 crisis. It is now scheduled to open in October.
But for now, the night is warm and the duvet around the outside of the building is reasonably comfortable, while we watch and wait astronomically dark and hopefully for a while in the clouds.
Clouds and comet
While the Perseid meteor shower is an annual event, the view of noctilucent clouds that can be seen over Northern Ireland this summer is very fine.
These clouds of cosmic dust and frozen water vapor that form at the edge of space, 82 kilometers above the Earth, are a feature of the short summer nights.
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Alistair Hamill
The display of noctilucent clouds this summer over Northern Ireland has been very fine
The haunting clouds in the highest part of the atmosphere reflect the light of the sun which is already well below the horizon.
“I love the romance of these clouds glowing in the dark,” says Alistair Hamill.
“There is no improvement of the camera, what you see with the naked eye is exactly what you get.
“They live in the part of the atmosphere that we understand the least. Higher than the balloons, but lower than the satellites.
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PA Media
A digital compilation of 30 photos of the meteor shower took over a period of 15 minutes at Yorkshire Dales National Park in 2017
“The condensation nuclei with which the clouds can form are made up of space dust from meteors such as those we hunt.
“Case that has been circulating in space for billions of years, not with a grip, but with a final, glorious view.”
We have lights. But not the ones we were still hoping for. A car comes down the forest road.
The driver is Terry Moseley, a former president of the Irish Astronomical Society and my guest several hours earlier for Evening Extra.
He is attracted by dark skies and the view of the cloud cover.
He says this summer has been important for the appreciation of astronomy, especially the comet Neowise which was visible for two weeks in July.
“People got fantastic photos that showed a lot of detail, even with a smart phone,” he says.
“Some basically show two different tails, the dust tail and the ion tail.”
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Roisin Laverty
Finishing touches are applied to the displays in Davagh Observatory
Martin McKenna prefers more than a smart phone. He is known as the hunter of the night sky and last night he is on the hunt for meteors.
The skies have now disappeared over Davagh, and as my eyes adjust, the number of visible stars grows per minute. I have not seen any of the meteors yet.
But Martin has: “Five so far.”
His uproar is clear. And it is helped by the messages he receives from observers in other parts of Northern Ireland that are cloudy.
“It’s good it is not,” he says, a big grin from ear to ear.
“We’re lucky. But it’s not just happiness, it’s perseverance. You have to put in the hours to create the opportunities.”
The night becomes dark. Martin and Alistair custom cameras.
The meteor count is up to 13 and it is clear that even for these experienced astrophotographers it will indeed be a very special night.
