I'll bet a lot of us are stargazers. No, not movie stars. The kind in the sky. And all the other stuff up there, too. This is a great time to be looking up.
The Perseid meteor shower comes up first on August 12-13, Saturday night into Sunday. This is the best of the meteor showers with up to 150 meteors per hour. However, the moon will be just waning, so the viewing will probably be reduced to about 50-60 of the best and brightest per hour. The best viewing will be after midnight until almost dawn so you'll be up both late and early.
The we have the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. The path of totality cuts a swath across the continental USA. Most of us will see at least some of the eclipse. The lucky ones will see the whole show. The next one will be in 2024.
If you want to watch the eclipse, you MUST have special glasses or you could be permanently blinded. You can even buy good paper-framed ones. Many local stores are carrying the glasses or you can order from the internet. However, please be sure they're certified for watching the eclipse. And don't look at the sun directly for more than three minutes even with those.
A very cheap alternative is a pinhole box made out of a shoebox. You don't look directly at the sun with it so it's a cheap and safe way to watch the show.
We're planning to go to a state park that has an observatory on a dark site, so the meteor viewing is very good. I expect we'll spend the whole night sitting in a parking lot, putting major cricks in our necks.
We considered traveling to see the eclipse, but I expect half the US will have the same idea. August in Texas is always blistering, so we're going to buy a small generator, hook up a couple of fans, and find an open place to watch as much of the show as possible. We already have our glasses.
Which brings me to these questions:
Are you an astronomy buff?
Will you make any special effort to watch the meteor shower, knowing that the best viewing will be after midnight?
Are you going to watch the eclipse? Are you in the path of totality? If not, do you plan to travel to be in the path of totality? Where? How far would you be willing to travel to see the total eclipse? Will the heat affect your decision?
Since TCS is an international group, I think there will be some very interesting answers. Let's hear yours!
The Perseid meteor shower comes up first on August 12-13, Saturday night into Sunday. This is the best of the meteor showers with up to 150 meteors per hour. However, the moon will be just waning, so the viewing will probably be reduced to about 50-60 of the best and brightest per hour. The best viewing will be after midnight until almost dawn so you'll be up both late and early.
The we have the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. The path of totality cuts a swath across the continental USA. Most of us will see at least some of the eclipse. The lucky ones will see the whole show. The next one will be in 2024.
If you want to watch the eclipse, you MUST have special glasses or you could be permanently blinded. You can even buy good paper-framed ones. Many local stores are carrying the glasses or you can order from the internet. However, please be sure they're certified for watching the eclipse. And don't look at the sun directly for more than three minutes even with those.
A very cheap alternative is a pinhole box made out of a shoebox. You don't look directly at the sun with it so it's a cheap and safe way to watch the show.
We're planning to go to a state park that has an observatory on a dark site, so the meteor viewing is very good. I expect we'll spend the whole night sitting in a parking lot, putting major cricks in our necks.
We considered traveling to see the eclipse, but I expect half the US will have the same idea. August in Texas is always blistering, so we're going to buy a small generator, hook up a couple of fans, and find an open place to watch as much of the show as possible. We already have our glasses.
Which brings me to these questions:
Are you an astronomy buff?
Will you make any special effort to watch the meteor shower, knowing that the best viewing will be after midnight?
Are you going to watch the eclipse? Are you in the path of totality? If not, do you plan to travel to be in the path of totality? Where? How far would you be willing to travel to see the total eclipse? Will the heat affect your decision?
Since TCS is an international group, I think there will be some very interesting answers. Let's hear yours!