Dave and I and our son were out of the house at O four hundred dark this morning. We had an inflatable mattress strapped in the bed of Dave’s Ranger and were off to find a spot away from the lights of the city to watch the night sky for the peak night of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Normally we wouldn’t have had to be up so early, but this year the peak of the Perseid meteor shower also happened to coincide with the full moon, so we had to wait until the moon was well down in the night sky in order for the streaking meteors to be visible overhead.
We were lucky to be helped by some heavy clouds in the west that covered the moon for brief periods.
In the little over an hour and a half after we parked in a pasture turn-off beside an open stretch of ranch land, we saw 17 meteors, 3 small satellites and the international space station fly by.
We were too busy watching for those blazing fast streaks of light to take pictures and the pictures that Dave took of the moon just before we headed home didn’t turn out but here are some links with some great photos and more information on the Perseid meteor shower.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/13/scitech/main20091995.shtml
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/3310516.html
http://meteorshowersonline.com/perseids.html
Image: suphakit73 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This was one of those fun experiences that our family calls memory builders. Years from now, we may not remember exactly how many meteors or satellites we saw. But we will remember staying up all night (or getting up early in Dave’s case) and heading out to watch for shooting stars.
Super Mom - No Cape! 