During the Lija fireworks on the night of 5th of August - a bright and clear shooting star was seen over Birkirkara from the north side - it seemed so near and the colour was amazing - all of us watching the fireworks saw it and at first we thought it was part of the fireworks...but soon we realised it was not from the fields where the display was being set off. Actually the flame came right through the sky, it was beautiful to watch.
This year's Perseid meteor shower, known to many as the Tears of St. Lawrence, or Dmugħ ta' San Lawrenz, will peak on Wednesday-Thursday night and taper off till about August 15th.
Earth is still inside the debris stream of Comet Swift-Tuttle and, as a result, the Perseid meteor shower is still active. So if it's dark where you live, go outside and look for meteors. Try to avoid other sources of light in order to get the best views. Moonlight will interfere with the display, but not ruin it. Face away from it and look towards the northeast.
Not every light that streaks across the night sky is a Perseid. Some of them could even be spy satellites!
The Astronomical Society of Malta is holding an observation session at Irdum tal-Madonna, L-Ahrax, limits of Mellieha, starting at 9 p.m. today Wednesday. The public is invited to attend.
Wherever you are I hope you will be able to catch a few of the hundreds that will be visible.
Enjoy the spectacle!
P.S. Here is a link to some photos (3 pages) of the meteor shower of this year:
http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_12aug09.htm
UPDATE: Just before going to bed last night or early this morning since it was around 2am, I rolled up our bedroom blind to get a better view of the skies from our bed and I was thrilled to see one more shooting star (could be two as they were going in different directions but close together). My son also saw another two at around the same time. So I guess it was worth the wait.
Around 5am this morning, I was up and looked at the skies again. I could see the early light of dawn and nothing was moving at first, then I think I saw some flashes of light but I don't know whether it was just my sleepy eyes or whether I had been dreaming!
I do hope many of you were able to see part of the meteor shower ~
It is when we notice and appreciate these things
that our everyday life becomes an adventure!
Shooting stars are so frequent in Summer, I saw one lately while we were at a music festival in one of our town squares. Doreen, I remember I used to see them when I was a kid during those evening promenade walks with mum and dad on the front where we used to meet with Aunt Doris and cousins, so many years ago, do you remember?
ReplyDeleteAnyway thanks for all the interesting info on the Perseid Meteor Shower, here in Italy they call it La Notte di San Lorenzo.
Hugs,
Sue.
I paint these every year. Thanks for reminding me.....I almost forgot about them this year. We won't see them this year because we have rain forecast for the next 4 or 5 days. Too cloudy. But I can still pain them :)
ReplyDeleteYes Sue in those days we did not have so many bright lights in the streets. Thanks for the memories : )
ReplyDeleteHi Lee I will look forward to your paintings then as I have not seen any shooting stars at all tonight!
As I said in my posting the one we saw on the night of the Lija feast I think was the best I have ever seen...it seemed to rush through the sky and was so bright and colourful...it was amazing how we could see it with all the light and tonight we switched all the lights and still did not see any...maybe if I am awake around 5 I may just try again, I think that's the peak time for seeing them : )
I forgot to mention our son did see one tonight. I am posting a link to a site with pictures of this year's meteor shower so do go back to the end of the main posting for the link please, at least we can see these LOL!
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching, but the rainy weather & cloud cover might make it impossible to get a look at anything. Love to watch the sky!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you will see some LynnAnne : )
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Doreen. I hope I get to see it. We both were thinking astrology this time.
ReplyDeleteTonight, at our family BBQ, I'll try to remind myself to look up at the sky and see how many shooting stars I'll be able to see. When my hubby and I were still dating each other, we used to compete with each other and see who gets to see the most shootings stars. In one night I managed to count 13 of them.
ReplyDeleteOh, I missed it! You can never see anything in the sky where I live due to all of the lights. I am not sure if I have ever seen a shooting star or not. So glad you got to enjoy the beautiful side of nature!
ReplyDeleteYes Daisy Soap Girl it does seem we were both looking up at the stars : )
ReplyDeleteWell Zen that is alot for one night on our island! The most I ever saw were in cottage country in Canada and I remember I had actually lost count after 21...it was quite a spectacle!
Hi Amber yes with all the lights it is difficult to see them but you can still notice some during this time. Don't give up yet, there may still be some showing this weekend. Besides you can spot shooting stars at any time of the year if you chose a moonless night and lie on a blanket on the ground and gaze up patiently. Hope you get to see one soon : )