Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Nature will be dazzling the sky this week.


This week is the best viewing for meteor showers.


First I need to apologize as I have been very occupied with a local political issue. To remind everyone we use to have a very good Moderate Republican Congressman by the name of Wayne Gilchrest. He was defeated in the primary by a Right Wing Nut Job. The good news is that the Moderate Democratic primary winner beat out the Republican Fanatic in the general election.
The ex-office manager who ran the moderate Republican Congressman’s local office in Salisbury, MD, has given me a call and asked me to help on a local issue so I have been very busy with this of late. That being said, I want to pass on asking everyone to take some time tonight and enjoy nature at its best.
If you can stay up late or get up early, tonight or tomorrow morning you will be provided with some great viewing. The annual Perseid meteor shower is gearing up now, and NASA is predicting that it may be better than usual this year.
The Earth crosses a strand of old dust that was released in the year 1610 from Comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteor rate could reach 200 per hour.
If you're not up at that hour, try taking a look anytime after dark tonight. If it's not cloudy, you should see some meteors. In fact, you can start looking any night this week. Meteors can usually be seen several days before and after their peek period.
The Perseid shower has always been very faithful, producing one meteor per minute or better.
Meteors can appear in any part of the sky, and some fireballs are possible. Their tails will all point back toward the constellation Perseus, from which the shower gets its name.

3 comments:

  1. Eng.,

    So I took the dogs out at 11:30 pm last night. Clear night here in NH, millions of stars.
    I'm looking up for 20 minutes, my 91 year old dog (in human years) inadvertantly shit on my foot, and I saw not one meteor.

    a double disappointment :(

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  2. Sorry Hump,
    Here in the Mid-Atlantic we had such rain and cloud cover, I didn't see a damn thing ether. Just got wet but no dog shit though.

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  3. Great clear night here in the Dordogne!
    It was a spectacular display and the edges of the western sky still had a hint of green after glow of twilight.

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