Perseid Meteor Shower Will Peak in Night Skies

They must have been spectacular last night. When I was taking out the trash about ten, one fell in the southern sky. Despite clouds, downtown lights, and hundreds of miles of more distant human lighting, this meteor was impossible to miss. It looked a lot more like the start of a fireworks display than anything in space. During the many times I've consciously looked at/for the Perseids, nothing has been nearly as spectacular as this inadvertent viewing.

Comet Swift-Tuttle is huge -- much bigger than the impactor that wiped out the dinosaurs. And its orbit passes shockingly close to the orbit of the Earth. As long as it sticks to its present orbit it can't hit the Earth, but in theory it could some day pass between the Earth and the Moon, or even hit the Moon. But here's the thing: the orbits of comets are not stable. We are safe for thousands of years; that much we can calculate. But sooner or later the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle will change, and it will gradually be thrown out of the solar system, or into the Sun. Or it will hit the Earth. And if that happens it will be an extinction level event unmatched by anything since life on Earth began. https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/08/11/the-comet-that-created-the-perseids-might-bring-an-end-to-humanity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Swift%E2%80%93Tuttle

Back when I was in graduate school at UC, Berkeley, I took a number of cross country road trips back home to Connecticut. I'd camp out along the way. A sleeping bag, a can of beans or beef stew, and a campfire and I was good to go. One August night lying under the huge sky of stars at a deserted camp ground in Utah I witnessed a spectacular display of the Perseid meteor showers. Was I impressed? Absolutely. But I was also anxious, as it was the early 70s and the Cold War was at its height. I figured that someone had pushed the button and I was witnessing the start of WWIII! All those ICBMs! Not until I reached my next camp ground in Colorado where I met a young couple and as we shared a dinner I learned of the natural phenomenon of the Perseid meteor showers. Sometimes an engineering education misses the forest as it studies the details of the trees. ...;)

I believe it was the Summer of 1982 that I went camping with a girlfriend in Devon, England. We had a small tent, and it was the night of the 12th August, and the sky was as clear as it could possibly be. We slept with our heads out of the open end, because it was so warm, and watched the most amazing display we'd ever seen of the Perseids meteor shower. Huge, silent streaks across the night sky happening probably every ten seconds or less. It was like a firework display, so amazing it was. To top it all, a pair of stallions were fighting in the adjoining field, kicking their hooves at each other, creating huge showers of sparks to compliment the display in the sky. It was a magical evening, spoiled only by the fact she was quite a ghastly human being, and I'd be stuck with her another two years before we broke up.

Just my luck . . . The skies over Chicago have been clear for many days and evenings and the one night, the ONE NIGHT into morning in which the showers we will be seeing will be rain showers or cloudy skies rather than those auspicious Perseids showers. Even though I personally cannot actually see anything at night due to declining night vision, my husband would have stayed up with me, describing in riveting detail what he may have witnessed. As much as I would have loved to have heard about this shower, we actually are in more need of rain showers than a falling star shower. Good luck viewing to all who may have the chance to do so. Don't forget to "wish upon a falling star".

I usually try to watch this and appreciate the reminder. The moon was quite bright last night though. I'm in a city and do not have an unimpeded view as there are large trees in my yard. And somehow driving somewhere unescorted in the middle of the night and lying on the ground seems ill advised ! But usually I spray myself with mosquito spray and put down an old blanket , as craning my neck back in a chair is quite painful. I wait until I see one excellent one streak across the sky and then call it a night. I wish everyone great viewing.

I’m on my way “Up North” today from my home in Ohio to my cousin’s 500 acre Christmas tree farm. I’m taking my tripod and camera with the plan of shooting the stars and meteor showers. I’ll nap until the moon goes down. Get out the bug spray and lawn chair and enjoy the show!

About 10 years ago, we camped at Goblin Valley State Park in Utah to watch the Perseids. The sky was crystal clear - it must have been a light Monsoonal season - and from our lawn chairs, we watched an amazing sky show of at least one meteor a minute. Of course, we were 50 miles or more from the nearest town of any size, so no light pollution impeded our view, a condition that relatively few Americans these days get to experience. Our society has gotten so detached from the natural state of the world that it is no wonder we have blithely gone about fouling our own nest. Wouldn't it be nice, for a change, if cities turned off the lights for a couple of hours during these events? Maybe we could regain our awe for nature and treat our environment with a little more caring, and certainly, more urgency.

I live in a area where the typical lot is 1.25 acres. My neighbors are apparently afraid of the dark and have exterior lights on all night. Why bother publishing a story about something virtually no one can see? Light pollution should be illegal and strictly enforced.