It’s that time of year again…August…and that means the Perseids meteor shower is here! Starting tonight and through the early morning hours of the 13th, get ready to see an active meteor shower…hopefully. Best hours to view are between midnight and sunrise.
This past weekend was pretty busy for me work wise, but on Sunday afternoon it was as if I had been transported to another place. I attended the Bruce Nehring Consort and was hooked from the first note played/sung. While listening, it was as if I was in a church in Moscow with snow falling outside or perhaps attending a royal ceremony in London….but I was in El Paso, TX at the Loretto Chapel and I couldn’t be happier.
The Church was full and the acoustics were superb. I got chills numerous times and was so glad that my friend Bob, who sings with the group, let me know about the performance. Next time someone says El Paso lacks a sophisticated music scene, send them to a Bruce Nehring Consort…I hear their Christmas show is great.
Last night was also the first time I have gotten to break out the telescope in a while. At first, I was having trouble seeing anything because of light issues…so I lowered my tripod and that seemed to do the trick. Even though the atmospheric conditions weren’t great, it still is thrilling to be able to peer into the El Paso night sky.
I hope everyone has a happy Monday and let’s look forward to a productive week!
I am definitely going to make a trip to the Gene Roddenberry Planetarium sometime soon…whenever the next public showing is. The sky has always amazed me and since my move to El Paso, that love has grown even more. Has anyone gone to this planetarium? Your thoughts on it would be much appreciated!
Here is the link to the EPISD site: http://www.episd.org/_schools/planetarium.php
My name is David and I am living El Paso.
I love the big sky in El Paso and when I heard about the Perseids meteor shower, I knew what I would be doing at 11 p.m. No, I don’t have a telescope or binoculars…yet…but that didn’t stop me. Although there was light pollution, I was able to adjust pretty well after a few minutes outside. I started looking around the sky hoping to catch a few meteors.
After a few minutes of scanning, I decided to focus on one spot. About a minute later, I saw the first one streak by in the night sky. The feeling of excitement overwhelmed me as I watched this celestial body fly across the sky towards a destination unknown. About 30 seconds after the first one, I saw another one streak with a much more pronounced orange color and it was beautiful.
Next time your Time Warner goes out at night, go outside and take in the inspiring El Paso night sky…you never know what you might see.
If anyone is interested, there is the Texas Star Party which takes place at a ranch near Ft. Davis where stargazers from around the world come to look into the heavens. Here is a video from this past April and click here for a 2009 meteor shower guide.
