I am always a sucker for a shooting star.....quick to close my eyes and make a "reasonable" wish. Well, tonite will be a night FULL of wishes! Every August the skies are peppered with little bits of space debris that create the Perseid meteor shower--shooting stars! The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus, from which they tend to emanate like spokes from the hub of a wheel. Comet Swift-Tuttle, whose debris creates the Perseids, is the largest object known to make repeated passes near Earth.
So, I found a few tips on meteor watching! A few years ago, I counted well over 75 in an hour! I was a good little star watcher that year, and went outside about 1:30 am.
Good LUCK!!
~Find the darkest location you can, away from porch lights and other lighting.
~Use a blanket or lounge chair to lie back and scan as much of the sky as possible.
~Allow 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
~Binoculars and telescopes are of no use, as the meteors move too swiftly.
Expect the shooting stars to arrive in groups. While scientists forecast 1 per minute during peak hours, the pace in fact tends to be higher for brief periods with relative droughts in between. Patience is truly a virtue.
The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus, from which they tend to emanate like spokes from the hub of a wheel.
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