A reminder to all about my favourite night of the year----and the best night of all to be an insomniac! (lucky me!).
The Perseid Meteor Showers start tonight (Sunday night/Monday morning) and peak tomorrow night (Monday night/Tuesday morning). As the Earth passes through the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, small bits of debris disintegrate in the earth's atmosphere and form "shooting stars". Some, called "earth-grazers", leave long tails that can be seen for many seconds in the sky. The Perseids are one of the most best meteor showers, producing one or two a minute on average.
The half moon will be setting around 1 a.m. so that will improve your view by making the sky even darker. Get away from streetlights and city lights if you can. Although the meteor shower seems to originate from the constellation Perseus which rises in the northeast, by the middle of the night it will be all over the sky so sit on a reclining chair or lie on a blanket and just look up. I like to take my car out to the beach where there are no lights and lie on the hood with my back propped against the windshield. As others are guzzling coffee to stay alert, I am happily wide awake, having not taken my meds for sleep! Hah!
Wishing you clear skies........especially me! (they're forecasting patchy clouds where I live----grrrrr!)
Rivergirl :rolleyes:
The Perseid Meteor Showers start tonight (Sunday night/Monday morning) and peak tomorrow night (Monday night/Tuesday morning). As the Earth passes through the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, small bits of debris disintegrate in the earth's atmosphere and form "shooting stars". Some, called "earth-grazers", leave long tails that can be seen for many seconds in the sky. The Perseids are one of the most best meteor showers, producing one or two a minute on average.
The half moon will be setting around 1 a.m. so that will improve your view by making the sky even darker. Get away from streetlights and city lights if you can. Although the meteor shower seems to originate from the constellation Perseus which rises in the northeast, by the middle of the night it will be all over the sky so sit on a reclining chair or lie on a blanket and just look up. I like to take my car out to the beach where there are no lights and lie on the hood with my back propped against the windshield. As others are guzzling coffee to stay alert, I am happily wide awake, having not taken my meds for sleep! Hah!
Wishing you clear skies........especially me! (they're forecasting patchy clouds where I live----grrrrr!)
Rivergirl :rolleyes:
