Saturday, September 18, 2010

Shooting Stars

It all started at the beach one night 11 years ago.  I wore my glasses into the hot tub so that I could see all of the beautiful stars that show up so well in the dark beach sky, and as I sat and stared at the stars I saw it. 

A shooting star.

I don't think I'd ever seen a shooting star before then--and I was instantly a fan.

(That is why I still wear my glasses in the hot tub at night at the beach, even though it looks totally dorky!)

Picture 041 

On our way to Utah last summer we stopped for a quick visit in Moab.  We drove into Arches in the late afternoon, walked around to see a couple of arches, and enjoyed the beauty of the sunset.

Day 4 Utah 2009 334

After the sun was completely down we got out and sat on the van and watched the stars.  Jason and I had read an article in National Geographic about “light pollution” in the night skies, and how few truly dark places are left.  Knowing that Arches was a truly dark place we had decided we would star watch there.  And I hoped we’d see a few shooting stars.

The sky was really amazing that night, and almost all of us saw shooting stars.  The kids were so excited.  I was excited because I knew it wouldn’t be the end of our star watching on that trip.

A couple of weeks later we were visiting Cindy Lynn & Mahon in Rexburg.  One night we went to some sand dunes near Rexburg.  These sand dunes are amazing—so many of them, so high, and out in the middle of no where!  We happened to be there on the night that was the apex of the Perseid Meteor Shower. 

It was an incredible and beautiful experience.

This summer for the Perseid Meteor shower we were back at the beach and back in the hot tub having a great time watching the shooting stars.  I still get so excited every time I see one.  (And I still have never wished on a shooting star!)

I  happened to pick up a copy of Boy’s Life the other day, and was really interested to see a page about meteor showers.  It turns out that there are more than the two/year that I knew about.  In addition to the Perseids in August and the Geminids on December 13th and 14th, (brr!) there are the Draconids on Oct 8th & 9th and the Orionids on October 21st and 22nd. I think I’m going to be doing a little star watching in October!!

3 comments:

  1. Sam and I used to drive out in his truck to star gaze in Rexburg. It was our little escape. I really miss that!

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  2. Star-gazing has always had a very soft spot in my heart. Ever since I was in high school...I'd take a sleeping bag out onto the trampoline, slide in, and gaze...think...hum...and always see a shooting star or two. We lived in a mostly-dark place, up in the mountains, with beautiful, clear air. Star gazing has been one of the things I miss most about UT - - - while beautiful trees are wonderful for fall season and shade here in NC, they don't make for very good star watching!

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  3. That is an old picture of us. I can tell because:
    1. this year while you guys were all oohing and ahhing the star show, I was inside working

    2. I only actually made it into the hot tub once that whole week, strange

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