Goodness Gracious Great Balls Of Fire!

The first fortnight of August brings us the Perseids. On the night of August 12th, and into the early hours of August 13, the meteor shower peaked in its glory.

The Perseid meteor shower has charmed audiences for centuries, and the show in 2010 will keep Perseid fans coming back to the theater for years to come! This show was inspiring for August stargazers in the sweltering, unrelenting heat.

The Great Bear in the northwest, Cassiopeia in the northeast,  Andromeda, Perseus, Pegasus, and Capella set the stage in the August sky. Although part of the Great Bear rapidly descends on the horizon in the early morn, it is very prominent in the northern sky.

I stepped outside on the eve of the 12th to view the great show in the sky. As observed, the humidity was very high and the fog heavily clouded the sky in no time it seemed. I’m glad I got outside before the fog thickened and obscured the view.

I was completely in awe watching the fireballs explode in the sky! The flash that radiated from the Perseus constellation as well as other parts of the sky, offered pure delight to this exuberant observer.

While this show made it as a Trending Topic, it no doubt was a Trending Topic for observers centuries ago. The luminosity must have dazzled the crowds of the ancient past.

As the tropic thunder leads us to summer’s closing end, those blue and extremely luminous stars that are faint in the northeastern horizon, point to cooler temperatures that lie ahead. The Seven Sisters show themselves just above the horizon in the faint summer sky. The approach of Autumn signals stargazers to a clearer sky of beauty.