see a meteor shower

After 4 years of having this as a goal, I finally watched the Perseid meteor shower last night. First, we went to an observatory that’s not too far that was having an open house. Through a large telescope, we saw the vega and deneb stars, which weren’t all that interesting. Then, we saw Mars and Saturn, and that was interesting. When we asked about the shower, we were told we’d have to go to N Ga. So, we got back into the car and drove about an hour north. We just happened to stumble upon a county park that had a boat ramp, and we lay on the boat ramp, where we could definitely see the stars about 50 times better. I saw about 10 shooting stars in an hour’s time and made all kinds of wishes, which, as an adult I know I can’t tell you about or they won’t come true. Didn’t get home until about 1:30, and I have to work this morning, but it was oh, so worth it after all this time and missed opportunities. We were lucky, too, because yesterday and last night were the only clear skies this week or last week. Thanks to BigMighty for making the suggestion and getting me motivated about this goal again. Thanks to DH for being so tolerant and letting me drag him out the other, unsuccessful times.

Next try will be the Draconids 10/7 and 8. If anyone else is interested in pursuing this, a schedule of meteor showers can be found at http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide.

Got up before dawn, put on my coat, and drank some coffee before I noticed it was rainy and foggy outside. Next meteor shower is the Lyrids on April 22 give or take a day and between 10 and dawn.

This is the next meteor shower for this area. Says to look north in the hours before dawn.

Due to rain clouds moving in. Won’t complain, though, because we REALLY needed the rain. Next good meteor shower isn’t until 2009.

The Draconids is the only other meteor shower this year that may be visible in this area, so I put it down on my calender. This one is supposed to be best seen in the earlier evening hours instead of after midnight, so that’s a help.

We drove 30 minutes north of Atlanta to avoid the light pollution and settled in at a good spot in a state park, but clouds rolled in about 10:15 PM, and it was part of a front, so we went home. Saw stars but no meteor shower.

The Perseid meteor shower is coming through. Will get me unto a mountain if the weather is clear.