Yesterday I read on an astronomy website that during a meteor shower you should not look at the point that the meteors are emanating from, as it is very hard on the eyes. Is this true, or is it one of the many misconceptions that people have about astronomy?

There's supposed to be a meteor shower going on around this time. I couldn't see anything because of cloud and fog, but I think it's going on for several days in the Southern and Eastern sky.

I suppose if you got one in your eye . . .

Where did you read this? Can you provide the link?

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The reason for not looking at the radiant is that you will see very few meteors and they will be very short. The best place(s) to look is about 45 degrees away from the radiant. Meteors are not bright enough to damage your eyes.

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T. Anderson

I don't have a link, but I think it was called Space Daily. Do you know anything about that website? Is it any good, or is it one of the ones like Godlike Productions that should be avoided?

Space Daily is on my list of sites I crawl for edification and for news to post here. It's a fine source so far as I can tell. I did a couple of searches there but couldn't find anything about meteor showers and hurting your eyes.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Maybe someone had just watched (or read) Day of the Triffids.

Well, I suppose one could suffer eye damage if one were to stare at the explosion of a Tunguska class (or larger) impact event.....

Jim.

In that situation, eye damage would be the least of your worries.

Top Ten list of eye damage causing events:

10) Not wearing galoshas on rainy days
9) Staring into the distance too long
8) Not closing your eyes when sneezing.
7) Holding hands with your girl friend before the age of 18.
6) Mast........, well, you know. ops:
5) Not eating carrots.
4) Not eating broccoli.
3) Holding your eyes in the crosseyed position.
2) Not saying your prayers before bed.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR EYE DAMAGE IS:
DOT-TA-DA-DA! (fanfare)
1) Watching metior showers while not wearing galasha's, eating broccoli & carrots, while mast.........ops:, etc, etc, etc.

I think it is safe to say that there is NO probability of eye damage from watching metior showers.

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It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

Okay, I guess I asked a dumb question. Thanks for answering it anyway, though. If I see anything else strange on the Internet, I'll be sure I remember the exact URL. I'm not sure how to post a link, but there are probably instructions somewhere on the board.

I think I saw one meteor this morning. Something streaked past Jupiter at high speed. Seemed to be coming from very high in the southeastern sky.

You forgot BB guns. They'll put your eye out! :P

Was it a quick streak? Or was it a point of light that was moving fairly quickly? If the latter, then it might have been a satellite or the ISS. If the former, then it probably was a meteor.

Not a dumb question. You didn't know. Now you do.
The easy way: Highlight the URL, copy it (control+C). When posting, paste it in the text box (control+V).
Probably an Orionid.

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Any day you wake up on "the right side of the dirt" is a good day.

T. Anderson

For the record, there are three meteor showers currently active: the Orionids, the Piscids and the Taurids.

The Orionids, which are associated with Halley's Comet, usually occur between 16-27 October, peaking on the 20th. The radiant is between Saturn and Betelgeuse. As Kaptain K said, what you saw was most likely an Orionid (unless it was just a sporadic meteor, which can occur anywhere at anytime).

The Taurids are active from 20 October to the end of November, peaking on 3 Nov. They're less prolific than the Orionids. They have two radiants, both of which lie just south of the Pleiades.

The Piscids are active throughout September and October. They have three radiants, each with its own peak: 8 Sept, 21 Sept and 13 Oct. The radiants, however, would all have been low in the west in the early morning.

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Aurora, the thing that I saw was definitely a quick streak, coming down suddenly from a high point in the sky.

Kaptain K, thanks for telling me how to post a link. I'm not sure if I can use the copy and paste feature, as the computers that I use are set up for Internet browsing rather than other types of computer work. Everything is more or less preset, I think. I'll try if the occasion arises, though.

No, not a dumb question. I appologize for offending you. I just reread my answer and can see where it sounded sarcastic and demeaning. I am genuinely sorry about that. I know my written voice sounds harsh and abusive although that is not what I intend.

My excuse is: I was trying to have fun with my answer and get a laugh. ops: Please read my signature.

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It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

Your post didn't offend me, Russ. Actually it was rather funny.

Say, that was a useful piece of advice. Cheers. 8)

Just a thought - did you also read an artlice about the sunspots? Earlier today I scanned a news web page, and there was a headline about how looking directly at the sun to see the sunspots could harm your eyes.

Memory can sometimes mix messages for some odd reason. It happens to me a lot. Is this a possibility?

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"As I lay beneath the Southern Cross, the stars tell more than I could" . . . David Meece

Looking directly at the sun is a bad idea any time, no matter what you're looking for!

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My Celestia Add-ons site.

I was looking at the orionids this morning and I saw a very brght something which had the overall brightness of about sirius (sirius was near by so I could compare) and this brightness was spread over an area of about half the size of the moon. It flew from the east to the west (the easst was blocked by a house so I couldn't see where it came from) and it looked like something pretty large. The most scariest thing is that I could hear it as it flew over, as if it wa skimming the atmosphere, and if it was, it must've been one hell of a rock for me to be able to see it so bright. It flew pretty fast covering half the sky in about 2 seconds.

Anyone know what this could be?

skyglow1