Just Passing Through...
Perseid Meteor Shower
Small flares streaking across the night sky, large balls of bright light strewing colorful debris in their trail. Get ready to enjoy the Perseid meteor shower season! Occurring every year about this time (July 25 – August 18), this nightly show surprises and delights. The peak display will be in the early morning hours of August 12 – 14 but can be seen as early as 10:00pm. A more prolific yearly meteor shower called the Geminids occurs in mid-December, but the cold weather makes it more challenging to stick around and watch.
The shower stems from the debris of the Comet Swift-Tuttle, composed of ice and dust, which orbits the sun about every 130 years. 1992 was the last time it came close to the sun and released a trail of tiny particles. Earth passes close to the comet's orbit and interacts with these tiny bits of comet material, which ram into our atmosphere at about 37 miles (60 kilometers) per second. Most of this material is no larger than grains of sand. The friction caused by zooming through our atmosphere releases the kinetic energy of particles resulting in short-lived flashes of light. Particles the size of a pea can create an effect as bright as Jupiter or Venus, while a meteoroid the size of a child's marble can yield a brilliant fireball and cross the heavens with a glow approaching that of a full moon. For a brief overview of August astronomy events and explanation of the meteor shower, click on Space.com.
The Perseids take their name from the constellation Perseus because they seem to fall from that area. This constellation was named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. He was said to have beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and saved Andromeda from a sea monster. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë.
Barry and I have been watching the skies from our driveway for the past 6 nights and have seen anywhere from 2 - 7 meteors between 10:15-11:15 pm (getting up at 4:00am to view them was not going to happen). Because we’re in the new moon phase, there’s little lunar light pollution plus the skies in North Garden have low levels of light pollution. If you want more darkness than is available locally, seek out the Dark-Sky Association map.
It takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the lower light levels. The longer you're out in the dark, the more stars, and meteors you’ll see. If using a flashlight, cover the lens with red cellophane to lessen the stimulation to your eyes.
When star gazing, you want to be comfortable. We’ve used a combination yoga mats and foam to lie on the ground and get a better view of the sky. Standing can hurt your neck! Sleeping bags or a reclining lawn chair also works well. Sitting close to the rapidly cooling ground in damp air can be chilly so bring a quilt or sleeping bag, lay back and enjoy the view!