Are You Starstruck?

[Mother Dragon]

We're usually sunny to partly cloudy. It just depends on what gets blown in from the Gulf of Mexico and the western part of the US. Today is partly cloudy to overcast, but absolutely no rain. Our high will be about 35 C, with a heat index (feels like temperature) of about 47. We had almost 9.52 cm of rain last Monday. It came down in about 6 hours. That's not totally typical, but it's not unusual, either. We usually get about 126.5 cm of rain year.

 

[rubysmama]

I went through an Astronomy phase many years ago when I was "starstruck" at all the cool things in the night sky. It was so neat being able to distinguish between the stars and planets. And to make out the shapes of the constellations. Orion is still my favourite, and one of the few things I like about winter.

Unfortunately weather and light pollution spoiled my enthusiasm for so many sky events, that I don't pay too much attention anymore.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Don't forget you can also take neat pictures of your kitties bathed in little crescent-shaped sunbeams! It's not always about looking up into the sky, but looking down at the sunbeams and the shadows.

hat-tip--- SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Look for the little story on "WEIRD WAYS TO OBSERVE THE ECLIPSE".
Anything with openings that the available sun can shine through will create crescent-shaped beams on the recipient of your shadow play... whether it's the sidewalk or the wood floor near a window or the cat grooming in the available sunbeam on your bed!
Pinhole Projection Eclipse Viewer

This will only happen if you have clear skies for the eclipse, of course.
August 21, 2017 Total Eclipse of the Sun

 

[Winchester]

We stayed up last night until 1:30, hanging out on our back deck. The clouds did dissipate during the evening and we were able to see quite a few meteors streaking down. We went out around 11:30 or so, sat down, and leaned back. And just watched. The moon came up a little after midnight, but our silver maple hid most of it. And sitting out in back of the house helped, although the moon really started to shine and that cut way back on star-gazing.

We saw a few "hiccups," our word for the little blink-your-eyes-and-you'll-miss-it kind of meteors. We saw some that really streaked. There was one that, we swear, looked like it had two tails! We wouldn't see any for 10 minutes or so, then a couple would streak by us. "Oh, there's one!" Most of the ones we saw seemed to come out of around Cassiopeia, which is northeast of us. By 1:30, the moon was really up and we couldn't much in the way of stars....it was really bright.

 

[Mother Dragon]

It was just too hot here to go out. The heat index never dropped below 89 and the humidity was about 90%. We would have steam-cooked. Maybe we can see the Leonids.

 

[Boris Diamond]

The weather map showed it clearing and I went out at 5:30 AM. It was clear at 5:45. I saw one very good one, so, while not a resounding success, I'm happy.

 

[mightyboosh]

It's also amazing that the vast majority of those meteors are no bigger than a grain of sand. That's how much kinetic energy they have to produce such a light show.

 

[Mother Dragon]

I wonder if the people in the space station hear those tiny bits of debris hitting them?

 

[Willowy]

I wonder if the people in the space station hear those tiny bits of debris hitting them?

At those speeds even the tiny bits are damaging. They're basically relying on the fact that space is very large and they mostly avoid collisions: http://www.sen.com/news/meteor-strike-on-iss-is-reminder-of-cosmic-hazard.html

 

[misty8723]

I've never been successful in seeing the meteors because it always seems like cloud cover. No different this time around, so I didn't bother to try. As for the eclipse, I would LOVE to see it, but DH has made me promise I will not look at the sun even if I could find glasses, because they are not all safe. Guess I'll have to see it on tv.
When I was young we lived out in the sticks and the sky was just full of stars, it was so beautiful. Now, it's hard to see much of anything in the sky. I am grateful to have been able to see the Milky Way, and I used to take it for granted.
I love this thread, I love the awesome pictures!

 

[Mother Dragon]

Make yourself a pinhole box so you can see the eclipse without glasses. It's easy and safe.