Perseid Meteor Shower
Apart from basking in warm temperatures, berry picking, and entertaining outdoors well into the evening, my favorite summer activity is watching the Perseid meteor shower in early August.
I remember one year in particular. With a plan in place, my youngest daughter and I woke up just before dawn and headed outdoors. Because New Hampshire’s early morning temps can be really chilly, we bundled up in sweaters and took a thick comforter out to our deck. It wasn’t too long before our eyes adjusted to the dark and the show began.
The first meteor is always the best. It’s the thrill of seeing something magical happening in the sky. The next half dozen generate oohs and ahhs but after that enthusiasm diminishes and is replaced with conversation –quiet, reflective conversation.
This year I live in Florida and my daughter is in Vermont so, unless we arrange for some computer “caming”* time, I’ll be flying solo. It’s occurred to me that maybe I should go over to the beach and watch the meteor shower from there. Whatever I decide to do, it'll be an adventure fit for the PugMan himself.
Okay, here’s some background info from Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center.
“The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."
(Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm)
"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."
<*(((><
Make some memories today. Go out and watch a meteor shower.
Caming – for the uninitiated means to use a computer based camera to have a video conversation via an online third party host such as AIM or SKYPE
For cut & paste:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm
http://dashboard.aim.com/aim
http://www.skype.com/
copyright 2008 Diana Taylor
I remember one year in particular. With a plan in place, my youngest daughter and I woke up just before dawn and headed outdoors. Because New Hampshire’s early morning temps can be really chilly, we bundled up in sweaters and took a thick comforter out to our deck. It wasn’t too long before our eyes adjusted to the dark and the show began.
The first meteor is always the best. It’s the thrill of seeing something magical happening in the sky. The next half dozen generate oohs and ahhs but after that enthusiasm diminishes and is replaced with conversation –quiet, reflective conversation.
This year I live in Florida and my daughter is in Vermont so, unless we arrange for some computer “caming”* time, I’ll be flying solo. It’s occurred to me that maybe I should go over to the beach and watch the meteor shower from there. Whatever I decide to do, it'll be an adventure fit for the PugMan himself.
Okay, here’s some background info from Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center.
“The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."
(Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm)
"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."
<*(((><
Make some memories today. Go out and watch a meteor shower.
Caming – for the uninitiated means to use a computer based camera to have a video conversation via an online third party host such as AIM or SKYPE
For cut & paste:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm
http://dashboard.aim.com/aim
http://www.skype.com/
copyright 2008 Diana Taylor
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