Science Forecast calls for shooting stars as Perseid meteor shower hits peak this weekend

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend on a moonless night, offering a prime opportunity to watch shooting stars.


The question remains: Will smoke or clouds obscure our view? | FORECAST

If the skies clear - or you travel to a clear, dark corner of Oregon - the meteor shower will be at its best just before dawn this Sunday.


The shower has actually been going on since July, and will continue through August, as the Earth plows through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.

"The Perseids appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, visible in the northern sky soon after sunset this time of year. Observers in mid-northern latitudes will have the best views," Jane Houston Jones from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in this month's What's Up podcast from NASA.

"You should be able to see some meteors from July 17 to August 24th, with the rates increasing during the weeks before August 12 and decreasing after the 13th," according to Jones. "Observers should be able to see between 60 and 70 per hour at the peak. Remember, you don't have to look directly at the constellation to see them. You can look anywhere you want to-even directly overhead."

https://katu.com/news/travel-and-ou...stars-as-meteor-shower-hits-peak-this-weekend

 

I remember one summer I was a camp counselor at Camp Howard outside of Sandy, Or. Someone had mailed one of the older counselors a bunch of booze and we waited until the kids were asleep and we all went out to a bluff overlooking Mt Hood The moon was directly behind Mt Hood so the top of the mountain looked like it was floating in blackness. We sat there sipping booze and watching the meteor shower. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.

Going camping this weekend at Fort Stevens, plan on hiking up the same hill I watched the eclipse on last summer to see the Perseid shower. Weather is supposed to be perfect.

 

You don't have a car, right?

 

"The Perseids appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, visible in the northern sky soon after sunset this time of year. Observers in mid-northern latitudes will have the best views. You should be able to see some meteors from July 17 to August 24, with the rates increasing during the weeks before August 12 and decreasing after the 13th," NASA said in a skywatching video.



"Remember, you don't have to look directly at the constellation to see them. You can look anywhere you want to — even directly overhead."

The best time to see those meteors is at around 11 p.m. ET until dawn the next morning.

https://mashable.com/2018/08/08/perseid-meteor-shower-guide/#4VcWjUCjTsqU

 

This will be going on until the 24th.

One idea (assuming you don't have a car.):

Get on Chinook Wind's website and grab a hotel room. They have a casino bus that goes around Portland and takes people to the casino. No you don't have to gamble, but they do have a large arcade for the kids. Go down, spend the night, even if it's cloudy you at least get a trip to the beach with your kid.

 

The buffet is pretty good and inexpensive for breakfast and there are a couple of pizza places in Lincoln City that will deliver to your hotel room.

Extra pro tip: Get a star map app for your phone. I've used Sky Map before and currently have StarWalk2 on my phone. Just hold your phone up to a star in the night sky and you see the name. Very cool.

 

2nd pro tip: Players club members get an additional discount off of the hotel room. Make sure you get a players club card inside the casino before you walk over to the hotel and check in.

 

I just like saving money, lol.

 

My arms aren't long enough to reach. Should I be keeping my feet on the ground while I do it?

barfo

 

Aim the phone down at your feet and you'll see which stars are currently on the opposite side of the earth. Kinda interesting.