OUR ANNUAL PERSEID METEOR SHOWER PARTY

I regret will not be able to "host" the annual Perseid Meteor Shower event (August 12) but I am happy to announce that Larry Snyder has graciously volunteered to "host" the event at Fairfield School in 1999. If you would like to assist at the star party, please contact Tom Wickersham at the Explorit office (530-756-0191).

Good Prospects for Meteor Viewing! The Moon will set soon after the Sun on August 12, giving us a dark sky. Perfect for meteor watching! As usual, our party will be at Fairfield Elementary School at the intersection of Road 32 and Road 96.

How to get there! Take Russell Blvd (Road 32) west 4 miles beyond the Highway 113 over crossing until you come to Road 96. Watch for the school crossing sign; the school is on the right side corner. There is a big grassy area (for chairs and blankets) and an area of asphalt (for telescopes, etc).

What to Do There? Maybe you will want to just lie on a blanket, soak up some starlight, leave without saying anything to anyone--it's OK!. Or maybe this occasion would be a great opportunity to stay up all night with a friend watching for shooting stars. Or, you might be puzzled by what you see, ask an anonymous question in the dark, and someone will attempt to supply a correct answer.

What to Bring? There are some items you'll want to bring with you to observe regardless of where you decide to observe. Binoculars are optional; but warm clothes, something relaxing to sit or lie on that will protect you from the heavy dew, mosquito or gnat repel-lant, a flash-light in a paper bag or with a red filter (to keep lights dim) are more important. A warm non-alcoholic drink can be helpful (alcohol will cause drowsiness and reduce visual acuity) If you are joining us at Fairfield School please remember that the school's restrooms are not available.

How to watch? Try to lay or sit so that you can see as much of the unobstructed sky as possible-the direction you are facing is unimportant. The darker the sky, the more meteors you will see. You can expect to see a bright meteor approximately every 15 minutes from our site. Certainly Fairfield School is not what astronomers consider a "dark" site favored by amateur astronomers.

Stardust Memories of Our Club's Past Shower Parties

In 1997, we were "invaded" by a friendly army of TV news people from Sacramento (Channels 3, 10 and 31) interviewing attendees and broadcasting "Live at 10 and 11 p.m!" They kept the bright lights turned off as much as possible. We always have a lot of fun, even when there aren't many meteors visible.

Perhaps our most unusual party was held August 11, 1993. This shower was forecast to be one of the best nights for meteor showers in recent history. Arriving at 6:00 p.m., two hours before the scheduled meeting, I was the seventh car in the small parking lot. By 8:00 the parking lot was packed and parked cars extended for half a mile or more down all the roads leading to the school. The large grassy playing field became a solid patchwork of blankets. I suffered a recurrent feeling of near panic when I began to consider what might happen to me if these people decided the evening was not "fun." Fortunately the sky was gorgeous and we saw many meteors.

Some Tidbits About Meteors ...

Why Perseid? The Perseid meteor shower gets its name from the location of the radiant of the shower in the constellation Perseus. The radiant is an optical illusion, appearing to be the point in the sky from which the meteors originate. The Comet debris that enters our atmosphere is travelling in parallel paths around the sun, but from our perspective, it seems the meteors are "radiating" from one spot in the sky to all other areas of the sky. The phenomenon is somewhat similar to standing between a pair of railroad tracks and looking them appear to converge to one point on the horizon. The tracks, like the paths of the comet dust, appear to radiate in two directions toward you, but in fact the lines are parallel.

How was the nature of "Meteor Showers" discovered? That meteor showers were the result of comets was surmised, though not proven, by an American, Edward Claudius Herrick in 1838, who investigated historical accounts of meteor displays and actually documented the history of the Perseid shower as a periodic event. However, this Connecticut amateur ultimately had to concede that 2 other investigators had discovered the annual nature of the Perseid shower independently (and earlier) in Brussels, Belgium and Cincinnati, Ohio. Herrick's evidence was more complete and compelling, however. In Herrick's time, most scientists argued that meteors in general were phenomena of weather-and were not originating in outer space. In fact, the word "meteor" refers to weather-based phenomena. In the 1860s the famous astronomer, G. V. Schiaparelli showed the connection between the appearance of Comet Swift-Tuttle (which orbits the sun every 120 years, approximately) and the increase in the number of meteors during the Perseid meteor shower. This comet-meteor connection helped prove that meteors were astronomical.

Finding More Information about Meteors

There you will find articles on how to watch meteors and the history of the discovery of the Perseids as well as links to other meteor related sites on the Web.

Don't forget that the best time for observing these meteors is before dawn on: Thursday August 12th, Friday the (lucky?) 13th , and Saturday the 14th.

The Astronomy Club is hosted by Dennis Smith with the assistance of Tim Feldman and other eager astronomy buffs. The club is for everyone - adults, children, knowledgeable or ignorant. Come to listen, look and learn, or to share your expertise or experience.