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For all you stargazers out there....this is the ULTIMATE star-gazing opportunity this year at MitM. The Perseid Meteor Shower will peak this year on August 11th and 12th (Friday and Saturday of MitM) and guess what....we are having a star-gazing party!! LIkely we will head up to 14,000 + ft Mt. Evans for the show....is there a better place in the Continental USA to watch for meteors? Dark and Cold up there....
Saint Lawrence will shed some fiery "tears" this year, punctuating the sky with bright streaks of light. The tears are best known as the Perseid meteor shower. They're bits of comet dust that burn up as they streak into Earth's atmosphere. The meteors appear to rain into the sky from the constellation Perseus. But they can shoot across any portion of the sky, so you don't need to look in any particular direction to see them.
Chinese astronomers first recorded the shower in 36 A.D. Later, it became famous for its association with Saint Lawrence, a deacon in the early Catholic Church. On August 6th of the year 258, the Roman emperor Valerian executed the pope and several deacons. Lawrence was executed four days later - likely by beheading, although legend gives him a far grislier death.
Tradition says he spent the days before his death giving away the church's wealth. When he was ordered to present the treasure, he pointed to a crowd of the poor and ill, and said they were the church's wealth. Valerian was so enraged that he ordered the deacon roasted alive. That night, streaks of fire blazed across the sky - the Perseids. They appeared each year on Lawrence's feast day - August 10th.
Over the centuries, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower has moved a couple of days later. But even now, the Perseids are still known as the Tears of Saint Lawrence. (Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2002, 2005)
Wow very cool tidbit of history...Thanks for sharing....
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“Undermine their pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but don’t let them take you ALIVE.”.......DSOC #34
up Mt. Evans, or maybe Independence Pass, each night of MitM...the meteor shower lasts for days and it should be easily visible at altitude, for 360 full degrees...
To best observe the Perseids wear appropriate clothing for the weather and lie outside in a reclining lawn chair. In the Northern Hemisphere, the display is best observed if you lie with your feet pointing somewhere between the southern and eastern horizon and look straight up. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, you should lie with your feet pointing northward and look to the region about halfway up from the horizon. Do not look directly at the radiant, because meteors directly in front of you will not move much and fainter ones might be missed. When you see a meteor, mentally trace it backwards and if you arrive at Perseus it is probably a Perseid. (Gary W. Kronk)
Best viewing window, Saturday evening, August 12, from the end of evening twilight through Sunday morning, August 13
Recommended for.... Anyone interested in meteors; just remember that the Moon will detract from the show.
The Perseids are probably the most-watched annual meteor shower. The shower has a very long duration, from about July 15 through August 25. The shower is most interesting around its peak on August 12 or 13. This year, the waning gibbous Moon will be a big nuisance, riding high in the sky during the morning hours when the Perseid radiant is high. In addition, the shower's normal peak will occur during daylight for North American observers. The radiant is above the horizon the entire night for observers north of latitude 32N, but it is fairly low at the end of evening twilight. Evening Perseid rates are low, then, but there are usually enough meteors to be interesting. The Moon is also low in the evening this year, and hopefully rates will not have fallen too far from their peak. East Coast observers will be favored this year. Serious observers will watch all night long, and deal with the Moon as best they can. Face the darkest part of your local sky, and if the Moon is in your field of view try to block it with some sort of obstruction.
Rates for most observers will probably top out at around 15-30 Perseids per hour, with a few sporadic and minor shower meteors added to the mix. Die-hard observers may be watching on adjacent nights; unfortunately, there are no Moon-free periods this year.
Perseids are fast meteors and tend to be fairly bright on average. An occasional fireball is seen, but these seem to depend on the luck of the draw.
