Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Perseid Meteor Shower

Wow! What a light show!

Daughter and I arrived home shortly after 10pm after dropping off my visiting sister at my parents home. On the drive home I noticed a shooting star and remembered the Perseid Meteor shower was happening over the next couple of days.

We stood outside on the driveway and craned our neck skyward. The next half hour was amazing! We saw many meteors quickly falling and they seem very far away. There were others that seemed to hit the earth's atmosphere and they fell slower, were often an orange colour, and left a large smoke streak which didn't disappear for numerous seconds.

The most spectacular meteor we saw was a slow moving one that actually exploded! We saw two very large flashes of light like an explosion and the smoke trail lingered for a very long time. It was absolutely incredible - I have never seen anything like that before!

I feel very lucky to have seen this as not an hour before was a huge rain storm. I can't believe the sky cleared up so quickly and we were able to see the shower. I'm also thankful that we live in the country with no lights - 'cause if we were still in the city I would never had had the chance to see this.

For more information about what is happening during the Perseid Meteor shower you can find more information here and here.

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