Astronomy
08/13/2007
Perseid Meteor Shower
Every year, around this time, the Earth passes through a cloud of dust left behind by the comet Swift/Tuttle. Many of these tiny dust particles burn up in our atmosphere, creating the spectacular display known as the Perseid Meteor Shower. Last night (August 12, 2007) was the peak night for the annual shower, and if you were far enough away from the lights of civilization, and blessed with a cloudless sky, this is a small example of what you would have seen.
Having gone out to see the showers last night, I will say that this video fails to capture the fleeting, fragile beauty of this event. It also utterly fails to capture the sensation of sitting on top of a cold, dark mountain for five hours, the sound of the two hippies doing it on the car hood next to me, or the spectacular display of fire ants who were none-too-pleased at having my ass on top of their colony. Still, it looks pretty cool.
