Come and witness one of nature's greatest celestial spectacles

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER

Thursday, August 12, 2010  9:00 pm

"It's going to be a great show," say Ron Perry and Rolly Chiasson of the Athena Astronomy Club. 

Experts at NASA estimate there could easily be one or two every minute at the shower's peak....

The show begins at 9:00 pm on Thursday, August 12 on the grounds of Briarcliffe Inn, 274 Salutation Cove Road, Fernwood. 

For directions, visit the Briarcliffe Inn website.

Fee: $25/pp + GST  Children under 12 are free. 

The source of the meteor shower is the Comet Swift-Tuttle.  Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, its tail does intersect our orbit.  We glide through it every year in August and tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere travelling 132,000 mph.  At that speed even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light....a meteor...when it disintegrates.  Because Swift-Tuttle's meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at their peak. This year's shower should peak on the night of August 12 and the morning of the 13th. The radiant point,( Part of the sky from which the meteors appear to come from), for this shower will be in the constellation Perseus. The thin, crescent moon will be out of the way early, setting the stage for a potentially spectacular show. For best viewing, look to the northeast after midnight.

As a bonus members of the Athena Community Astronomy club will be on hand with telescopes to show the following planets -  Mars( the red planet), Venus(the brightest planet) and Saturn (planet with the rings) should be visible and even later in the evening around midnight, the giant planet of Jupiter should also be visible along with some of its moons.

There will also be a 40 minute presentation at sunset outside on the big screen explaining the origin and details of the Perseid Meteor Shower .

 If skies are clear don't miss this great event.

Make sure you bring your lawn chairs or folding loungers, warm clothes, blankets, bug spray, snacks and refreshments.

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