Shooting Stars and Satellites

“There is going to be a show tonight!” This is what I used to think when I was younger and the sunset promised a clear, dark nighttime sky. Watching the nighttime sky is not unlike wildlife viewing. You never know what you are going to see. Sometimes it turns out to be a dud, other times a once-in-a-lifetime event occurs.

Persieds

Even though the peak of the Persied meteor shower has passed, there is still a good chance to see one of the greatest misnomers ever created. A shooting star. If a star really grazed our atmosphere we all would be in big trouble. Shooting stars are really bits of rock, sand and dust that burn due to our atmosphere’s friction against the object. It may even be space junk burning up above our heads.

A while ago Taco Bell tried to capitalize on this. An archaic Russian satellite was projected to enter our atmosphere and burn as it was being drawn in by Earth’s gravity. Taco Bell placed a bull's eye in the ocean and advertised that everyone would get a free taco if the satellite hit the bull's eye. It missed, but I remember that Taco Bell took out an insurance policy to cover its expenses if it really happened. Talk about good advertising. Hope that doesn’t catch on though. I would like to think about life, stars and far away galaxies when I gaze upon the sky. Not a free taco.

Over the next few days, if you look northwest and if the sky is dark you may see one of the brighter Persied meteors. This year the Persied’s were projected to be a dud because the light from the full moon prevents you from seeing the fainter meteors. But to me, it’s still worth to look because the moon is not bright enough to prevent you from seeing the brighter meteors or even a fireball.

Hearing a Meteor

Technology is amazing. If it is cloudy out and you still want to be a part of the action, I recommend using this site. The U.S. Air Force's Space Surveillance Radar captures the ghostly “ping” of a meteor as it is burned in our atmosphere. I have to admit that the white noise can grate on your nerves, so I would rather use my sense of sight than my sense of hearing. But it is worth a try.

Satellites

When I was younger I thought the faint dots crossing silently over my head were high flying planes or even U.F.O.’s. Now I know that I was seeing a human-made satellite. And if you want to know exactly what is being seen orbiting the Earth, this site can tell you.

According to this site, at 9:06 p.m. tonight, if you look southwest you will see one of the brightest objects in the sky besides our sun and moon: the ISS or International Space Station. This spacecraft looks like a constantly moving, luminous point of light gliding across the sky. These sightings along with meteors and summer constellations make me connect back to when I was a bit younger when I looked forward to a full night of star gazing.

Before the Internet, video games and 4,000 different channels on television, there was always going to be a good show if twilight led to a dark, star-filled sky.