Watching meteor showers on summer evenings is one of my fondest memories of childhood. My favorite meteor shower of the year was the Perseid in August. Whether we were at the beach or the mountains, we would search out a dark spot with a broad view of the sky, and wait in great anticipation for the first shooting star. Reclining lawn chairs were essential but laying on the ground with a blanket was the best. A personal rule of mine is once you commence meteor watching, you can’t go in until you see at least shooting star. And that holds for any summer evening. Not just nights with a yearly scheduled meteor shower.
A favorite memory is from my teens. I would go up alone, except for our two trustys dogs, to an athletic field that bordered a large woods. With the field lights off , there was a broad expanse of sky that was perfect for viewing. Laying down on the grass and looing up, I ‘d focus my eyes on nothing so I could take in the whole expanse of the sky-ready to detect shooting star from anywhere. The dogs loved it. Meagan, a border collie, and Molly a Labrador mix would lay down on each side of me and keep watch. No bad guys, bears or coyotes would be sneaking up on us.
Watching meteor shower requires several basic things. Patience, laying on your back , not being in a rush, and most importantly clear skies. The last requirement is of course the most important. The past few nights I’ve gone out and it has been overcast which isn’t surprising to me. If there’s anything I know from years of summer star gazing is August has many cloudy nights.
Perhaps it’s the first sign of the coming of Fall, but August weather patterns make observing the Perseid shower a chancy endeavor.
As if seeing a shooting star weren’t chancy enough!
copyright 2017 Christopher Donahue