Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Perseids

Every August the Perseids are visible.  They are left overs from a comet..the pieces that race across the sky are the size of a grain of sand  sometimes getting as large as a marble.  The earth crosses this path of comet leftovers once a year.  They light up the sky in August every year, if the skies are clear.

Sunday night we all discussed the Perseids..Noah, Andy, Jen and I.  Noah said he would go out if he was awake.  Andy said he wasn’t going, Jen said she might wake up and go out and have a look. I told Jen to wake me up. 

I checked them out from our yard about 3 AM.  Then I let the dogs out to do a little business.  I woke Noah up and asked him if he wanted to go to the cemetery with me?  “No Grandma.”  A few minutes later Jen came downstairs and we took off.

The local cemetery is a great place to watch the night sky.  I brought some blankets, Jen brought her camera.  I left mine at home.  It was chilly..but we were entertained by the Perseids.  It is a guess exactly when and where they will appear.  We saw quite a few.  It was too chilly for bugs, they must have all been sleeping to stay warm.

At one point we thought we heard dogs barking, Jen said “Sounds like our dogs.”  We heard an Owl and the nearby irrigator made funny noises as it worked it’s way around the field.  The cemetery itself was silent…three cars came by on the highway.

Back at home, Chance decided that I had left forever and started to howl, which in turn set off Little Elvis and Miney.  A dog chorus!  Far Guy had no idea where I went or for what.  He was worried, as soon as we got home he said “Where have you been in your jammies?”  “Well at the cemetery looking at Perseids with Jen.”  Apparently he missed the conversation we had earlier in the evening.

This is a photo Jen took of the night sky as dawn approached.

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The light on the ground on the left is a solar light on a grave.  The light at tree level on the right is an irrigator light.

I love to watch the night sky.  How about you?  :)

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18 comments:

Cathie said...

Beautiful picture. Wish I had been there to see them!

linda m said...

I love the night sky. Glad you were able to get out and see the meteor shower. Sunday night it rained here and last night there was too much light pollution to see anything and I wasn't going anywhere in my jambes. I live in the city :(. Great picture Jen took.

DJan said...

When I was younger, I spent many a night camping out among the stars in Colorado. There were a few times I woke and went outside the tent to gaze at the most amazing sky, filled with so many stars, being away from all lights. It was always when the moon had not arisen that they were the most stunning. Thanks for reminding me of those days, Connie. :-)

thecrazysheeplady said...

Super shot! I've been wanting to go out to watch but the insomnia I USUALLY battle midway through the night when they'd be perfect...has taken a couple day break. Maybe I should just say I want to watch meteors every night...

Travels with Emma said...

I, too, like the night sky, but not enough to sit in a cemetery in my pj's at 3:00! :)

Cappy said...

Wow! I didn't realize Orion has risen. He's my winter constellation... Summer is drawing to an end... :-(

Beautiful photo!

Rae said...

I love to sky watch too - day or night. I went out on Saturday night to look for myself, but wasn't able to see much. I needed to get out in the countryside more, but was too tired to take a drive.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shot. I love the night sky, too. At Nalley Valley, we were out away from town and could see forever, it seemed like. I know you and Jen had fun.

Intense Guy said...

I was going to go out and watch too, but not in a cemetery! Unfortunately, the heavens opened up and we got over 4 inches of rain last night! It took 2 hours to get to work this morning (all 9 miles...)

Nancy said...

I love the night sky, too, especially in the winter.

Country Gal said...

We love night sky's to as Papa is into astronomy and has a portable observatory with telescopes in ! Great photo ! It has been a bit to cloudy here though at night . Thanks for sharing ! Have a good day !

Karen said...

I planned on going out to look last night. Fell asleep on the couch, woke up at 1:30am and by then had forgotten all about it.
Great night sky photo!

Red said...

We had cloud cover so didn't see anything. To be truthful I never looked but I have enjoyed meteor showers before.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

When we first moved here, watching the night sky was one of my favorite things to do. I have fond memories of laying out one night with my husband on sleeping bags and watching a meteor shower (not sure now which one it was). Now the trees around our place are so big that most of the sky is not visible. On another note. A friend's husband may have that horrible nerve thing that Far Guy deals with. My heart goes out to both of them.

Jenn Jilks said...

I am so happy you shared it with us. I just cannot get up. Well, not true.
I often let the cat in the wee hours. I'd just rather photograph moths on the porch.
The mosquitoes are just horrible!
Cheers from Cottage Country!

The Furry Gnome said...

I did manage a brief look at 3am Monday night, but then the clouds moved in. Did see one shooting star Sunday night. I always hope to see northern lights, but haven't seen them for a few years now.

Rita said...

Yes, love the night in general, but you have to get out away from the city to really enjoy the night sky. Sounds like you should have taken Chance with you. ;)

Terry and Linda said...

I love the night sky! And I love the meteor showers...August is just perfect for both.

Great photo! Someday I would love to see the Northern Lights!

Linda
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