We're Only Watching the Skies
How's this for a date idea: Would you like to lie on the ground in some dark and remote location and watch a once-a-year light show?
The Perseid meteor shower couldn't fall at a better time. It's as if Mother Nature knows that summer is waning, and so she gives us a reason for a final fling: an excuse to be out at night, in the exotica of pitch blackness (or as best we can find it amid city lights), looking for shooting stars in the atmosphere.
This year, she's even set it up for us on a weekend. You can watch from any light-free place, flat on your back, lying on the ground, but a couple local parks are having special events for viewing. And even though these falling stars have added a spark to plenty of summer relationships, do remember that these organized gatherings are intended to be family-friendly affairs.
By Anne |
August 11, 2006; 2:19 PM ET
Misc.
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Posted by: NASA-reader | August 11, 2006 10:14 PM
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Actually, this year will be particularly bad for watching the Perseids, according to the NASA page, because "the glare of the 87%-full Moon will overwhelm most Perseids, making them impossible to see." The moon will rise at 10pm, so check it out before then if you want to see the meteor shower.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/07aug_perseids.htm