Perseid meteor shower, planets, moon to grace night sky

boston herals ^ | 8/12/10 | Robert Nolin

[TXnMA]

"Did not see much where we were either. But, it was worth a shot."

Hey, a few hours out under God's heavens is always "worth a shot"!

That's true -- even if you only spend time playing "Name that star" (or constellation) -- or use binoculars to verify that really is M31 (the "Andromeda Galaxy") you think you've spotted with your "Mk 1 bare eyeballs"... And that's what I did when there were long minutes with zero meteors last night.

BTW, I live 'way out in the northeastern Texas "Piney Woods" -- with the closest town >10 miles away.

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However, my introduction to the Perseids was a real spoiler: Ca 1950, my folks and I were way out on the far western end beach of Galveston Island, (zero lights) resting in the bed of our pickup (waiting for the tide to change) -- when "the sky lit up with 'fireworks'"! We all faced different quadrants of the sky, and the meteors were appearing so fast, our exclamations of, "There's one!" frequently overlapped.

When the time came, I hated to light the lanterns and start wading -- looking down and hoping to "gig" a flounder. In retrospect, knowing how unusual the meteor shower was, I wish I'd stayed in the truck bed...

The bad news is that all subsequent meteor showers have been disappointing by comparison -- but still worth the outing!

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BTW & FWIW, I've learned that shutting off the security light and setting up the lounge chair before dark -- with cushions, sleeping bag/poncho liner, pillows, etc. and covering it with a tarp for dew protection -- saves mucho fumbling around by the light of a red-lensed flashlight after midnight... ;-)