Highlands Astronomical Society

 

 

The last Monday of the skool* holidays for staying up late and perfect timing to coincide with the annual Perseid meteor shower.

 

The events surrounding the day of the 12th August 2024 is a tale of synchronicity, magic and faith. Let me explain. For a positive outcome to the 'Perseid party' a lot of things need to fall into place and not the least of these is the weather. Remember that all this has to be advertised and organised in advance so a lot of 'finger crossing' is needed and, of course, we all did that privately; but we went a little further and roped in my daughter's cat 'Terry' to work some magic that might keep the clouds away.

Clutching at straws? You may say that, and that it would be strange for a 'scientific' organisation to resort to casting spells to achieve its aims but remember, 'Horatio', that there are more things etc. and though for all the lamps of science, it is still a dimly-lit path that we tread.
So, how did 'Terry' work out? Well.......  the day of the 12th (the glorious 12th for lovers of grouse) started ominously with black clouds looming up from the South and the near and more near sound of thunder. The weather map looked like it was predicting a storm of rain, lightning and towering cumulonimbus clouds topping out at 50,000 feet!

Sure enough, the storm swept across the Highlands, even setting fire to a house in Aviemore which was struck by lightning! Torrential rain and strong winds accompanied all this and our faith in 'Terry' was sorely tested for a while, but restored soon after, as the storm quickly passed and left a partly sunny afternoon with a warm breeze. By early evening however, despite being warm and calm, a blanket of thick cloud obscured the sky and looked stubborn enough to last into the approaching night. At 9pm the fire was lit for the barbeque and friends and visitors began to arrive. Needless to say, we were generally in a despondent mood on account of the clouds; typical of astronomical events, especially one-off events like a meteor shower; but we waited and we talked and prepared some camera equipment and telescopes in hope of a change to the conditions. Some astute people had spotted in earlier weather forecasts that the sky would clear later in the night and they tried to persuade those who were thinking of going home early to have faith and just wait it out. Most responded to this favourably with only a handful giving up and for those that stayed.....  things were about to take a dramatic and wonderous development!
In a narrow window to the South West and directly in line with the path to the Observatory, the first-quarter Moon sat on the horizon and in a golden glow, serenely sank out of sight.

At the same moment, a hole appeared in the clouds and Arcturus blazed red from the fading twilight followed by Capella in the North shining white and brilliant. Swiftly now, the sky was clearing and more and more stars became visible. The first shooting star sped across the sky between the holes in the cloud and Fiona Duff, (who almost went home early), captured it on her camera!

That meteor signalled the change and now the party really started!

art by Maggie Vandewall.

For now is the very witching time of night and as distant churchyards yawned the sky was ablaze with the falling stars of the Perseid shower; some faint and only seen from the corner of your eye, but others, red and green racing through the heavens leaving thin trails of eerie mist in their path. You have to be pretty lucky to catch one on a photograph but tonight, to my astonishment, many people succeeded in doing just that!

Nourah ALmusaireea.

Eric Walker.

As the Meteor shower intensified and yells of "did you see that!!!" came from all corners, Lisa Pattenden drew our attention to a faint but noticable glow in the North. The Aurora Borealis was starting to form and very quickly grew stronger until within a very short time it was glowing green and violet, towering into the sky and reaching all the way to the zenith!! This was a breathtaking display of the Northern Lights and each new spire of light brought screams of delight and wonder from the captivated crowd.

Fraser.

Very often, the aurora can be fleeting and simply flare up and then quickly disappear but not this one! It would go on to last most of the night until the dawn light would drown it out. Lisa was in fact up all night photographing it and from different locations.

Rosemarkie beach.

So the night wore on with dazzling lights from the aurora and the fiery streaks of the meteors but there was more to come on this most unique and unusual night. At 01.58 precisely, two UFOs (or UAPs as they are now referred to) came into view above the trees and from the South East. Two intensely bright lights close together and moving almost imperceptibly toward us they came out of nowhere in the black sky and after a moment of brilliance greater than that of Venus they faded and vanished altogether. Miraculously, Carl caught them on his phone camera!

What look like trails are just artifacts of the exposure lasting a few seconds. Now we don't know what they were even though there were lots of theories and speculation ranging from rockets re-entering, spinning satellites and angels. Who knows? Just UFOs and come up with your own ideas.  It's not the first time we have seen something like this though and Carl, Paul and I have all seen the same thing but coming from the opposite direction.
Now, if you were thinking that anything else that would 'wow' us would be pure hyperbole then think again! One more wonder was just emerging from the Eastern horizon. A close conjunction of Mars and Jupiter! Just the most amazing sight to wind up a night already packed with wonders.

Mars and Jupiter.

It had been a night to remember; the synchronicity of timing, the magic cat to keep the clouds away and the faith of those that stayed to see it all against the odds from the gloomy start of the evening. All the more magical by the company that we kept. It was great to see so many members, visitors and guests there and with the onset of early dark nights to come I hope it will act as a lure to bring them back to our window on the Universe at Culloden Moor.

* typo?