One thousand years ago, the comet
Swift-Tuttle passed through the earth’s orbit, scattering rocks and other
debris all over the place. Since then, these rocks have been showering into the
earth’s atmosphere whenever the earth passes under the Constellation Perseus.
This produces a spectacular meteor shower, known as the Perseids. The shower
will be visible in the evenings from 11 August through 14 August. It will be
particularly visible this year, because the moon will have set before sundown,
and the night sky will be very dark, making these meteors easily visible.
Actually, the meteors will be
falling also during the daytime; but they will not be very visible at that time
because the light of the sun will obscure them.
https://binged.it/2AGoQ3I
Press Control+click, and you will see the constellation Perseus between
Cassiopeia and Taurus on your computer screen. Perseus is in the northern
hemisphere. The brightest star in Perseus is Mirfak. Andromeda is a
constellation to the west of Perseus; and Cassiopeia is to the north. The
Andromeda nebula in the constellation of that name is the most distant object
visible to the naked eye. The Andromeda nebula is 2.4 million light years away
from earth; and it contains 1 trillion stars!
Have fun watching the show!!
When I
consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man
that you care for him?
Ed and Nancy Manring
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