Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Cloudy Weather...

Looks like clouds and rain are going to get in the way of watching the Perseids tonight (Wednesday), but the forecast is for clear skies tomorrow night. Still, the clouds may break in the early morning hours, so set the alarm and coffee pot for three, just in case...

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Watch for Shooting Stars on Wednesday & Thursday Nights!

SPACE.com -- Excellent Perseid Meteor Shower Expected Aug. 11-13
"Shooting Stars" aren't really stars at all, of course. They're chunks of rock out in space that hit Earth, falling through our atmosphere so fast they burn up. The burning rocks are called meteors. Every August, Earth travels in its orbit through a swarm of these rocks. The result is a meteor shower, called the Perseid Meteor Shower because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus.

Watch on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The BEST time is actually from about 2:00 am to dawn. Your best view will be out of town. City lights really get in the way. But if you're stuck in town, go out anyway and see what you can see. Be patient, and enjoy the other stars you can see.

Especially, watch for the three planets, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in the western sky after sunset,