Perseid Meteor Shower 2023

OhPleaseJustQuit

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Jul 27, 2021
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Reminder! Tonight, August 12th, is the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower!

It has been so disappointing for so many of the past few years to be unable to see the sky during this part of August, due to the smoke from forest fires, but I stepped out on my deck last night at about 10:00 to let my dog out, and the sky was perfectly clear and I saw one meteor streak across the sky in the five minutes I was out there.

The best way to see the showers is to get out and away from any city lights. I sometimes have to deal with the annoyingly bright headlights on the many trains that go through my town 24/7, but last night was a dark night.

Enjoy, if you have a chance! I recall a trip way up into the Cascades, many years ago, where my hubby and I saw approximately one meteor every minute or so.

 
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I love stargazing though being on the populated side of the state is alot different than the eastside. When we used to go camping over there, I was in awe of how many more stars you can see. It was beautiful.


My youngest son must have been outside about the same time as you were and seen the same meteor
 
I love stargazing though being on the populated side of the state is alot different than the eastside. When we used to go camping over there, I was in awe of how many more stars you can see. It was beautiful.


My youngest son must have been outside about the same time as you were and seen the same meteor
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I am in South Dakota now, dear. I believe you're thinking of where I came from -- Washington state. Now I am not too far from Sioux Falls, the biggest population center in the state -- but it's not too hard to get away from the light there. I can drive just a few minutes out of the small town where I live and be far from the light.

It was REALLY a challenge to drive far enough away from the lights of ANYWHERE on the I-5 Corridor in Washington, but after we moved from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula, it was far easier to get out of the light of town.

I can no longer imagine what it was like living in urban Seattle and being able to see only the very brightest one or two stars in the sky.

We used to take a yearly fishing trip to Eastern Washington and really enjoy the darkness.

Cheers!

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Reminder! Tonight, August 12th, is the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower!

It has been so disappointing for so many of the past few years to be unable to see the sky during this part of August, due to the smoke from forest fires, but I stepped out on my deck last night at about 10:00 to let my dog out, and the sky was perfectly clear and I saw one meteor streak across the sky in the five minutes I was out there.

The best way to see the showers is to get out and away from any city lights. I sometimes have to deal with the annoyingly bright headlights on the many trains that go through my town 24/7, but last night was a dark night.

Enjoy, if you have a chance! I recall a trip way up into the Cascades, many years ago, where my hubby and I saw approximately one meteor every minute or so.


Even better if you wait until at least midnight to 2AM to look when the radiant of the shower is above the horizon!
 
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I am in South Dakota now, dear. I believe you're thinking of where I came from -- Washington state. Now I am not too far from Sioux Falls, the biggest population center in the state -- but it's not too hard to get away from the light there. I can drive just a few minutes out of the small town where I live and be far from the light.

It was REALLY a challenge to drive far enough away from the lights of ANYWHERE on the I-5 Corridor in Washington, but after we moved from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula, it was far easier to get out of the light of town.

I can no longer imagine what it was like living in urban Seattle and being able to see only the very brightest one or two stars in the sky.

We used to take a yearly fishing trip to Eastern Washington and really enjoy the darkness.

Cheers!

.

Noooo, I know you have since escaped this crazy place. But yeah, hard to find a good gazing spot here other than the brightest activity.


But son did come in around 10-ish and say he'd seen a meteor as well. Which had sparked a conversation about the yearly Perseid showers.
 
Noooo, I know you have since escaped this crazy place. But yeah, hard to find a good gazing spot here other than the brightest activity.


But son did come in around 10-ish and say he'd seen a meteor as well. Which had sparked a conversation about the yearly Perseid showers.
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Okay, thanks for reminding me. Glad your son got to see one!

Refresh my memory please, what part of Washington? I thought you said Spokane County.

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One year I went out to my secret spot in the nearby USDA farms to get away from the light pollution and better see the meteor shower. When I got there at about 2 AM, I found out my spot wasn’t so secret. The entire road was lined with cars and lawn chairs and coolers. Looked like a drive-in movie theater.
 
One year I went out to my secret spot in the nearby USDA farms to get away from the light pollution and better see the meteor shower. When I got there at about 2 AM, I found out my spot wasn’t so secret. The entire road was lined with cars and lawn chairs and coolers. Looked like a drive-in movie theater.
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AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bummer!

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AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bummer!

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I had another space episode in those USDA farms on a night of a rare night launch of the space shuttle. The trajectory was such that the shuttle would be visible to the naked eye as far north as DC, where I was. Unfortunately, a USDA cop stopped me when I got to the farm road and asked what I was doing out there. I told him but he didn’t believe me and told me I had to move along. I stopped up the road anyway, listened to the launch on the radio and a few minutes later saw the shuttle flying through the sky, its three engine lights glowing and clearly visible.
As I headed back out, the same cop flashed his lights and stopped me again. This time he had an excited look on his face and said, “That was it just then, wasn’t it??!! Wow, that was cool! Have a good night.”
 
Even better if you wait until at least midnight to 2AM to look when the radiant of the shower is above the horizon!
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Thank you! I wake up several times a night and I'll take one of those opportunities to go out!

This is exciting, having the moon so thin and the sky so clear. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever really get to see the shower again under the right conditions.

You think like this when you get old.


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I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever really get to see the shower again under the right conditions.

You think like this when you get old.


In a twisted kinda way I have to say I am glad to know I'm not the only one to think that way.


I guess as our 'expiration date' draws nearer, it changes our perception of how we look at whatever life we have left.
 

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