Meteor Watching

Only a few minutes ago I was out having a smoke, gawking about the sky and a meteor went whizzing by -- cool!

After I spent considerable time looking for them last week on Thursday and Friday nights Lynda and I drove up to the Purple Woods on Sunday night. We'd been out to dinner with Russ & Melissa and they'd decided to head back into the city around 10 p.m. It was a perfect night for viewing from the highest point in the region - warm, breezy, clear and most importantly no bugs!! We were there from 11:30 until almost 2 and saw probably 18 -- 3 very bright, 6 pretty dim, and half in-between. There wasn't any consistency to interval between them, nor point of origin, nor trajectory. There were some considerable waits between sightings and then we'd see 2 or 3, then nothing for 15 or 20 minutes. Plenty of time to talk and cuddle as we leaned against the car. As an added bonus Lynda spotted one as we got out of the car when we arrived at the house.

Funny, as you get older, all you have to do is adopt and hold a different posture in order to strain muscles and joints. My neck and back have been SORE all week up until yesterday. Next year I'll have a bed in the back of a pick-up truck - damn straight - and a stock of anti-inflammatories.

Gawking Skyward.....

.....and a slightly stiff neck. But it's worth it!

Each time I've gone out tonight since it got full dark I've been gazing, hoping and waiting to see at least one meteor. Until a few minutes ago I thought I was going to get shut out and then......

...a brilliant one flashed across Casseopea, NW to SE, spanning 15deg of the sky leaving an iridescent afterglow that hung in the upper atmosphere for about 10 seconds.

Beautiful!! and like I said...worth the wait.

Night Sky Alert

This is the big weekend for the peak viewing opportunity of the Perseids Meteor showers. The best times will be between 2 and 4 a.m. for the next few nights with the early morning hours on Monday being the best (approx 50/hr). Tonight there has been a lot of high thin cloud which has prevented me from seeing any so I'm hoping for clear skies to come our way. Although it's removed from actual urban areas here there is enough light pollution from the south to affect viewing. Sunday night I plan to be another 20 miles north, approximately in the middle of nowhere. If you're able to find Casseopea you're looking in the right area.