I have always loved stargazing. Looking into the night sky and thinking of the infinite space beyond. Wondering what lies out there. Some of my favorite memories growing up include stargazing. My Dad was a science enthusiast (and probably the main reason I became one too). I remember him waking me up well after midnight on mid-August nights to go out into the back yard. He would have little camping chairs set up, snacks, and our telescope. As I wandered sleepily into the yard, he would remind me that it was time for the MAIN EVENT– his favorite time of the year to gaze up into the night sky– the PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER had arrived. We would lean our heads back as we sat in our chairs and point out every “shooting star” we saw. I remember one night we saw over 200 shooting stars in just a few hours. You could see them with your eyes. We didn’t really need the telescope, but having it there with us made us feel like real Astronomers! We would look through at the moon periodically– but the PERSEIDS METEORS were what it was really all about. It was MAGICAL.
I have continued the tradition of waking my own kids up after midnight to trek out to the yard to watch for shooting stars every August. I have also encouraged MANY students over the years to do the same. Every year it is MAGICAL. It is like watching light rain down on the Earth.
This year, it will be a bit harder to see the magic, because the peak nights of activity will pair with the full moon. But, if you are outside of the city lights, and you give your eyes time to adjust– you will still be able to see some of the MAGIC happen.
The PERSEID METEOR SHOWER will be active between July 17– August 24th, but will PEAK on August 12th, just after midnight and into the early morning hours of August 13th. You can see meteors any of these nights if you have the right setting and a lot of patience, and the number will increase each night as we get closer to the peak time. During the PEAK time there can be as many as 150 meteors an hour!
For Tips on watching the PERSEIDS, click here for a FREE GUIDE.
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