As a working college student, I rarely have time to squeeze observing into my busy schedule. However, this week, the Perseid meteor shower presented the perfect opportunity to catch an early morning sky show. So, last night, with a friend and a couple lawn chairs (no binoculars or telescope needed), I drove about 50 miles away from the bright lights of Milwaukee to watch the peak of the shower.
The shower was better than I expected. We settled into our observing site around 1 A.M. and watched for about an hour. Under a clear sky, I caught close to 75 meteors, some of which left smoke trails that remained visible for a few seconds. A couple times, I even caught four or five meteors consecutively.
As we were packing up to head home, the shower continued, making it especially hard to leave. I wish I could’ve stayed for at least another hour. It was definitely a sky show I’m glad I took time to watch.
Don’t worry if the clouds did not cooperate in your sky or if you didn’t catch the shower. Even though the peak was last night, there should be a decent show tonight and tomorrow night, perhaps as many as 40 meteors per hour.
Did you watch the Perseids last night? Tell me about your observing experience.