Rain washes out most of Perseid meteor shower
Aug. 21—I hope you got to see some meteorites last week, although a full moon washed out all but the brightest ones. Rain showers were a surprise in in the Valley that dampened the Perseid meteor shower. Rain is always welcome except when farmers are trying to harvest cotton.
The oh-so-welcome rains washed the dust out of the sky and the Scorpion was really beautiful suspended against the velvet dark southern sky, with the Little Teapot asterism tagging along behind it. I hope you take the kids out to see these patterns in the sky so they can begin to realize that patterns are more than math.
If you stand facing north, left shoulder to the west, sunset, and your right to the east, sunrise, then you have a great view of Cassiopeia and her consort, Cepheus in the NNE. Cassiopeia looks like a letter W or M and Cepheus looks like a crooked little house with the roof peak to the left and slightly down. There are two stars in Cassiopeia that lead you to the North Star, Polaris, just like the two stars of the Big Dipper asterism when it is high in the sky. These northern- sky-region star patterns are called circumpolar due to the fact that Earth's rotation is in a west-to-east motion so the stars in the north appear to rotate counterclockwise throughout the night.
When you finish looking north turn around to Scorpius again and let your eyes drift upwards toward the zenith and see if you can pick out an elongated pentagonal shape with a few stars scattered to the east and the west of it. This pattern of stars is called Ophiuchus (O-fee-U-kus), the physician. The stars stretching out to either side are a serpent that he has divided with his hoe while working in his medicinal herb garden. There is a great story related to this constellation and it is in a book at your local library or on several internet sites. Google them and enjoy the variety of star stories available.
This weekend the Resaca de la Palma state park and world birding center MAY be hosting its regular night hike. There is a park fee, but the tram ride through the dusk lets riders experience the calls of the cicadas, the gentle calls as the fulvous tree ducks rush home, the soft calls of the pauraques, and even an occasional coyote wailing his lonely way to chase a rabbit or two, which might release a terrified scream. The almost-missed swoop of bats chasing mosquitos or the silent passing of an owl are also possibilities to experience. Prior to the hike, early comers might enjoy a star story or activity in the meeting room of the park. Call to verify there will be a night hike this week.
The ivory gleam of Saturn is now in the east about 9 p.m. As the world turns on its axis Saturn will be drifting farther towards the south/west throughout the night. In the predawn sky it will be closer to the west. Later in the night Jupiter and Mars will be visible to the naked eye and a telescope would reveal Uranus and Neptune, and with the right KIND of telescope Pluto. Venus and the slender crescent moon will be rising just before the sun. If you locate Mars, it will be joining the constellation Taurus and the delicate little open cluster named the Pleiades.
Go out, look up, and enjoy the view.
