Getting Close with Space

The night of the Perseid meteor shower, the sky was incredibly cloudy here. We needed rain, so I was willing to put up with the cloud cover for the sake of a few drops. Unfortunately, no rain came. I was bummed. I love meteor showers, and the Perseids are one of those easy to watch summer shows.

Last night the skies were clear and it was comfortably cool outside. I figured I would sit out and enjoy the night. Surrounded by the constant shrill sound of crickets and other insects, I enjoyed the night and watched the sky. I didn't really expect anything. That made it even more special when a blue white meteor streaked across the sky in front of me.

In my geekiness, I ran in to tell the family. Marina is still somewhat jet-lagged from her European vacation (pictures coming). She decided to turn in early since she had to work this morning. Chase was in the middle of a game and he and my husband were watching a show. Sierra was excited to come outside with me.

I pulled over another lawn chair and Sierra sat next to me, cuddled under a blanket. As we waited, we talked about many things, including the many meteor showers we've watched over the years. She liked skywatching in the yard better than heading to the cemetery at midnight on wintry nights. We've done that for the Geminid meteor shower. I told her about watching for meteors with her big sister while I was pregnant with her. I realized that Marina was eight when I did that, just like Sierra is now. How time passes!

And then we saw a meteor streak across the sky. And another. In all we saw four, not counting the one I saw before I called her outside. We also saw a number of star-like lights flare up and then quickly disappear. Perhaps they were meteors farther out? We'll have to research that.

As much as I would have enjoyed having the whole family outside to share this experience, it was nice having the one on one time with my youngest. Sometimes you get caught up in the whirlwind of your children's lives and you forget to give them some individual attention. It was nice to get close to Sierra by giving her some "space".