Thursday, August 12, 2010

Perseid Meteor Showers


I got up at 3:30am with the intention of hiking up into the mountains behind my home to get a wider view of the skies and the Perseid meteor shower. But it was more than partly cloudy, so I decided to go out into my yard for a preliminary "see what I could see."  I pulled a lounge chair into the middle of the yard and started to watch the big fluffy clouds glide by on the currents of the trade winds.  From time to time there were wide patches of open sky and lots of stars.  Before long I spotted a blue-green meteor streak across a broad opening in the clouds.  


Soon, another... and another... as the clouds would open and close windows that gave me a peak of the deep dark sky. 


No need to hike up into the mountains, (although it seems as if something as spectacular as a meteor shower warrants at least a little effort for the price of admission.)  It's free.  And easy.  And memorable.


You have several more days to see them!