August 6, 2013
Counting the Stars 

Have you ever spread a blanket on the ground  on a clear, balmy summer night and lay on it, gazing up at the star lit sky overhead?  When we were kids that was such a delight. 

Far above our heads was a celestial wonder to behold. I never tired of seeing the  myriad stars that painted the night sky, picking out constellations and planets,  watching the fireflies blinking on the ground, rivaling the ancient twinkling stars so far away.  Light years that is.  

I have never been able to comprehend the notion that the glow we see is actually the phenomena produced thousands of light years ago when a burning morsel of space debris hurtles across the sky.

While crickets provided a melodic accompaniment we'd stare into space.  Dad advised, rightly so, that we should look not directly at the constellations in order for the eyes to focus on them.   If we were lucky, we'd even catch sight of a shooting star or two, and of course whisper quietly to ourselves a wish. I do that still today in fact.

It was pure magic in my opinion.  And of course spellbinding.

Sometimes we'd even take a flashlight with us and shine it into the heavens, secretly thinking we could send a special signal to some other beings of intelligence out there.  Or daringly flash it at a passing jet airplane.  Word was that the passengers in the plane would be able to see the light. 

But I hesitated to do that for fear of blinding a pilot in control of the jet plane, and send it crashing to the Earth in a ball of fire.  That was, of course, long before laser beams and the relatively weak glow of a flashlight could never produce the all-to-real threat that laser lights do.

If you are so inclined, star gazing will be particularly entertaining this weekend when the Perseid meteor shower will be in full force, offering quite a natural light show and producing scads of "shooting stars" per hour.  Get outdoors, find yourself a spot, preferably away from light-polluted suburban skies for best viewing., and turn gaze upward. 

You'll have to stay up late as the meteor will be most prevalent in the early hours of the night from midnight until just before dawn.  But I think it's worth the lack of shut eye. Best of all, you need not bring along any equipment - just clear skies and plenty of patience.

The Perseid meteor shower, named for the Perseus constellation that the showers line up every year at this time,  is one of the rarest and will likely produce about 50 to 100 meteors every hour, s well as thousands of meteors throughout the night. 

Observers may also espy visions of  Mercury, Venus, Mars and several other planets, some of which will line up with each other or the moon in impressive celestial displays.

Scientifically, the shooting stars we see are actually bits of debris that hit the Earth on its annual orbit through the atmosphere.  I'd like to think that the stars of my childhood were indeed stars and not some garbage hurling through outer space.

You may think whatever you'd like, but for heaven's sake, get outdoors this weekend and take in one of nature's most spectacular sights.  And don't forget the blanket, (and bug spray or course)!

You won't be disappointed. You will be making memories that will remain indelible in your mind long after the fiery streaks blaze the night sky.