Sunday, August 8, 2010

Planets and Meteors August 12

This Thursday, August 12, is a good night to have an amateur astronomy party.  Every summer the Perseid Meteor Showers dazzle us with their show, but this summer, they have an opening act.

Venus, Saturn, and Mars will all be appearing in the western sky just around twilight along with the crescent moon.  They will be in tight conjunction and easy to see--you won't even need a telescope.

Just as the planets are disappearing, around 10 pm, the meteors will begin.  And with the moon being but a crescent, they will be very easy to spot.  If you rise early, during the darkness just before dawn Friday morning, you could enjoy seeing dozens per hour. 

You can read about it on the NASA blog.

3 comments:

Dana Leeds said...

Oh, neat! We now have a lake house and the sky is BEAUTIFUL! (We don't see much here in the city.) We might have to head out there on Thursday afternoon to enjoy the show. Thanks for posting! :-)

Unknown said...

Thank you! We'll be out by the campfire watching intently. How wonderful!

WildIris said...

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You've been awarded the "One Lovely Blog Award." Enjoy!


http://homeschool-reviews-and-resources.blogspot.com/2010/09/one-lovely-blog-award.html