Why is it the best meteor showers happen in the coldest weather? It seems like you really have to be a fan of astronomy to get up in the middle of the night to stand in the cold and stare at the sky. And if you live in an urban or even a suburban neighborhood, you may also need to get in the car to drive somewhere with less light pollution. Luckily, we have a cemetery nearby. Nothing says dedication like stargazing among the tombstones.
One of the advantages of being a homeschooling family is that we can stay up late and watch the meteor showers without worry about our children falling asleep at a desk the next day. The clear skies of winter improve the chances of seeing a shooting star. Meteor showers that happen in the hazy heat of summer, when schools are on vacation, are more obstructed and have the added problem of mosquitoes.
The years I haven't been able to wake my husband I've limited our meteor hunting to the yard. While we aren't in a particularly wild area, we get enough wildlife that it can be unnerving sitting in the dark, wondering if that might be a skunk that just snapped a twig behind you.
We usually try to stay out until everyone has seen at least one shooting star, but Sierra was not having luck this year. She doesn't have the attention span yet to stay looking at the sky long enough. And it was cold. Very cold.
2 comments:
*Smile* She certainly looks wide awake in that last frame. I know how cold it gets at night here -- south of the Mason-Dixon -- I can imagine how frigid it is where you are.
'Luckily, we have a cemetery nearby.' OooooKaaaaayyyy.....
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