meteor gazing

here is google's perseid meteor shower doodle and don't forget to look at the sky tonight.

(this video from google was deleted or lost.)

the perseid and delta aquarids meteor showers

late july and early august brings the perseid meteor shower to the northern hemisphere. this shower occurs every year when earth crosses the orbital path of comet swift-tuttle. debris from this comet litters the comet's orbit, and you can probably start seeing meteors now if you live in a dark area. we're not into the heavier part of it until the first week of august, which is a good time to begin watching so as to catch glimpses before the largest full moon of the year on august 10th. according to the earthsky website, the wee hours before dawn are when the most meteors streak across the sky. though, they also say that if you watch in the early evening you might catch what is called an earthgrazer, a long, slow and colorful meteor that travels horizontally across the sky. they say to give yourself a good hour for observing, as the meteors come in spurts with lulls in between. why is it called the perseid meteor shower? because if you trace all the meteors backward, they seem to come from the constellation perseus, who is the son of zeus and the maiden danae, from when zeus visited her in a shower of gold. you can read earthsky's full article here.

during this same time, the delta aquarid shower can be seen from the southern hemisphere. this meteor shower traces back to aquarius the water bearer, with it's radiant point nearly aligning with the star skat, or delta aquarii. if you are watching the sky in the northern hemisphere and you see meteors arcing from the northeast or high in the north, they are from the perseid shower, but if you see them arcing from the south, from aquarius the water bearer, then you are seeing the delta aquarids. (you can read about the delta aquarids here.)

(the above photo is from thursday's sunset.)

after dinner walk

 

   we took a walk today after dinner.

fooling around . .

 

   it was cold and beautiful.

and the sun set quickly.

do you see venus in the southwest sky?!

la bella luna sulla notte di lunedi

when coming out of the subway tonight, on our way home, morgana, chanda and i were very excited to see the stars. the moon was shining brightly in the western sky, and twinkling south of her was . .

sirius and orion's belt! here is sirius, orion's belt is just a little up and to the right. it doesn't show up on the picture, but it's there! what an incredibly clear night we had. it made me feel very happy.

la belle stelle

la bella luna . . at around 8 am the morning after our star gazing.
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we read a little from the chapter about constellations in our book discover nature in winter, and we read a lot from h. a. rey's book find the constellations. the latter is very direct and simple and really helped us find orion's belt, the pleiades, the twins castor and pollux, the big dipper and the great bear, the little dipper and polaris, cassiopeia . . and sirius! i think sirius was somehow our favorite star. maybe because it was so bright, and it's the dog star. i guess we can relate to big dogs. it was exciting to look up and pick out the shining pictures and think of the stories behind them . . i miss the stars in the city . . and i'm a little amused and dismayed that i've never really "seen" the constellations in all my life until now. yes, i've been to the planetarium . . but it isn't the same as looking up at the sky at night! and i have looked at the sky at night (after all, i have been on plenty of camp outs!), but i just never made the connection. i feel a little like helen keller when she finally felt the running water over her hands and connected it with the word, water. it was that way for me when i finally looked up at the twinkling lights and connected orion, sirius, castor, pollux . . sometimes it really takes learning with children to open one's eyes . .