Believe it or not – and the local weather guy thinks we will have weather to believe it in the upcoming days, summer has only six weeks left. That means many different things to many different people – back to school, cooler weather, my birthday (just had to slip that one in), the Perseid meteor showers.
Wait! Stop! That is the event I look forward to all year. I love to lay on a chaise lounge in the backyard – let Google Earth satellites go over at night – with a good bottle of wine, some friends in their own chairs and lounges and hammocks, and watch the meteor showers. Sometimes, this is a family event. This year my daughter will be home for her four day vacation prior to needing to return to college and we will watch together with at least one of her brothers. I am not totally sure I can convince the 17 year old that this is cool enough anymore.
For those of you who want more info, please follow the links below. If you are nearby but live “in town” and need a place to watch, let me know.
July article on “shooting stars”
Years old viewer’s guide to Perseid meteor showers
Meteor Showers Online
A few tips of my own:
- While the bottle of wine is great if you are watching for meteor showers at midnight, coffee or cocoa is good for those pre-dawn hours when they tend to be better seen.
- It can get chilly in August. Be sure to have a jacket or blanket handy.
- Try to get away from lights – out of town – and let the campfire die down to embers.
