Hi PAS members! If anyone wants to join us in Fountain Hills to observe
the Perseids, feel free to come on out. Here is the note I sent out to our
town residents this morning.
Our skies are about SQM 20 before moonrise. So it's your call, if you can
get to darker skies than we have in the same amount of driving, that's
probably a better bet for you, but you are all welcome. Good luck!
Ted
Hi fellow stargazers!
As you probably know by now, tonight (Tuesday, August 11, 2020) will be the
strong peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
To maximize your enjoyment of this yearly celestial event, we have arranged
with the Town of Fountain Hills to have the lights turned off at the 4
Peaks Park soccer field, on the corner of Del Cambre and El Sobrante Aves.
from 9-11 PM tonight.
If you are still here in town, grab a reclining chair, yoga mat or
something that will let you comfortably look up and join us for an evening
of stargazing, hopefully punctuated with some blazing meteors. No
telescopes or binoculars are needed. Members of the Fountain Hills
Astronomy Club will be on hand to answer your questions and offer some
green laser pointer tours of the sky.
Social distancing and masks continue to be important, so please have your
group set up at least 6 feet from other groups. Also, please observe the
following requests to maximize everyone's enjoyment:
- No dogs please, it will be difficult to avoid a doggy mess in the dark.
- No cell phones or tablets. Our goal is to let our eyes adapt to the dark
to see as many meteors as possible, including the faint ones.
- Flashlights should be pointed at the ground, and turned off once you have
found your spot.
- Some cold drinks might be a good idea, it will still be pretty warm.
To learn more about meteors and comets, as well as why this meteor shower
occurs on the same day every year, my recent article
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001CVTqmGb0uN04PP71a5YWtGwgdRu-Yey9zkMw6x2tsm1nyG4jVUxCz3DwwsD9NKB6X0e6-z2NY6j6Bm-RFbzaIPMFiG8jPJlLbdYzcHbZUrBSl40P8rxRNsZz8Gxc-hmnXFva8S9-Da_Q0Z5Y3VEXqkkSBOqVVSQW_FvEJ53zBAEv0cSjg54udB0RKF0tx2D3tQcYev99PHToGlSQT0cEZx9pt2vT9Ue3cYu0auPb5d3MQzrFOJzLbvG671lynh0JztvGyyYnhT4ipO_LAYoVPMl9fJtdEkeLWIOerNZgu_C4G9UnuRSPLJ6NzCfqxGTJyMCPfNbtuQIV79-hNl21gHUQ5l1KkiRTQoNc0jLmbXvV4ButGXAm4KrN6MijHCvQBkx6OIrJnxpRiH8xNgIlT0yliEM6rwNpLdXHfPuHBmlKXOSAglGCz4tzbj7sBXTiSYy_ZlBVQH8_qj7KmHvfwYrWMLtlkTlf_i_w5vTp_NjWoot5YcwNNe3L_6BZgWid&c=KfL0SfjDfg7vxJAnSILVwGDlmTlcinW1zQ5_JxXoMO7dgXcYyrINDA==&ch=3DX410Gvqbg9tC1RZADI8n67dvDB-KwwHrKtsGedFU-ZFXy7B89i1g==>
in
the Fountain Hills Times may be of interest.
Hope to see you tonight!
