This Week in the Mercury
Friday, August 12, 2011
Astronomy The Full Moon Ruins Everything
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 11:58 AM
It's time again for the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, the annual cluster of shooting stars that occurs when Earth falls in the path of debris left behind years ago by the messy Swift-Tuttle comet (way to clean up after yourself, Swift-Tuttle). Tonight marks the absolute peak of the shower, during which you can view up to 60 shooting stars an hour—but you might not get to see much because of the FULL MOON, whose bright, stupid light is gonna make it pretty hard to see the meteors.
Nevertheless, OMSI is hosting a star-watching party for the Perseids (named for the constellation of Harry Hamlin) tonight at both Rooster Rock on the east side, and L.L. "Stub" Steward State Park on the west (full details here). It's $5 per vehicle and gets started at 7:30 pm (when it won't even be close to being dark yet).
If you really have your heart set on seeing a bunch of fucking meteors, though, your best bet might be to wait until a couple hours before dawn tomorrow morning, when the shower will be at its peak and the moon will be low in the sky. Or we could just do what people have wanting for years, and simply blow up the moon. The time is right, people.
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