We'll be back in February with the final chapters of Comet Trails book one!
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As long as it's not cloudy where you are, this year will see an above average peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
The Perseids will peak on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. It doesn't get much more convenient than that.
And the waning crescent moon doesn't rise until close to dawn on Sunday. So moonlight won't interfere with viewing the meteors.
The annual Perseid shower will make its big splash on the night of August 12–13. Patience has its reward. Observers won't have to tangle with the full Moon as we did last year. Instead, an 8%-illuminated crescent will rise around 3 a.m. local time and make a welcome sight in the eastern sky as dawn gets underway. Additionally, two potential meteor outbursts during and after shower maximum could sweeten the pot. More about those in a moment.
Perseids flare at the rate of about one a minute from a dark sky. If you're able and the weather looks ideal consider a drive to the countryside to fully appreciate the rich harvest of meteors in the offing. Invite family and friends to share the experience. Neither telescope nor binoculars are needed, just a reclining chair, snacks, and warm clothing in case you stay out late. This interactive light-pollution map will help you find the darkest skies near your home.
The cool thing about meteor showers is that you need no optical equipment to enjoy them. Lawn chairs are always a big plus; perhaps some ambient or spacey music would be appropriate. Just sit back and watch. If you are worried about bugs, thin clothing that covers arms and legs is helpful.
Don't worry about being hit my a meteorite. Typically they are the size of a grain of sand and almost all of them burn up in the atmosphere. It's the friction caused by entering Earth's atmosphere which creates the displays.
Each particle drills into the atmosphere at more than 133,000 miles per hour (59 km/s) some 100 kilometers overhead. Heat generated as the speeding debris compresses the air in its path creates a bright streak several kilometers long made of heated atoms ablated from the meteoroid, as well as a glowing trail of air molecules ionized by the impact.
The best displays take place when your location on Earth begins to turn towards the meteor stream after midnight. Meteor showers favor viewers who stay up until 2 or 3 AM.
It is necessary to be in a dark place with low light pollution. This is a great excuse to visit friends in outer suburbs, exurbs, or rural areas. If it's dark enough to see the Milky Way, even faintly, that's a good indicator of the sky being sufficiently dark.
Of course all visual astronomy from the surface of Earth depends on the weather. So check the forecast for the place where you'd be viewing the Perseids before making final plans.
One overlooked aspect of astronomy is that it's a very inexpensive date. So enjoy the company under the stars! ☄️
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dave malloy was like yea let me just add in a song for broadway and ended up creating what i think is one of the most haunting and terrifying potrayals of the helplessness of suicidal ideation and mental illness in theatre AND THEN MADE JOSH GROBAN (VOICE OF AN ANGEL) SING IT. and hes just like carrying on with his life. he has no idea what hes done to me
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Infrared image of the Helix Nebula taken by the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007. This cosmic starlet is often photographed by astronomers for its vivid colors and resemblance to an eye.
(©)
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