Been clear as a bell for days! The last 2 nights we havew had showers, clouds and storms moving through....*sigh*...
Linda C

Thanks for the information. I almost forgot! I posted it on the Texas Garden Forum so those of us that live out of the cities can watch them. They are really something to see.

Thanks for the heads-up (though weak, the pun was intended), Dorie. Early in the month, my daughter sent me something about a Jupiter event in August, too. Though I don't remember exactly what it said, I think it said that for a period, Jupiter would be very apparent & second only to the moon in brightness. Perhaps you or another reader can fill in more details. I'm sure it said it was a once in either 500 or 5,000 year event.

Al

Actually it's Mars starting on August 27...

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification .

Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN...

Rita

Here's the factual details about the Mars situation. Apparently much of that information was relayed in the form of a hoax. The REAL deal is attached.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mars hoax

Rita,

"Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye."

Rita, Rita, Rita...

MM

So much for copy & paste from a friend who 'always checks for hoaxes'... LOL. Sorry all...

Rita

I bought it. Hey - if your H.S. principal daughter sends the info, it's gotta be right - right? ;o) Didn't catch Dorie off guard - no sir. Thanks Dorie.

Al

I received that very same e-mail, word for word! Luckily, I subscribe to that NASA Space and Weather news service, so I cannot take any credit whatsoever for pulling us out of that rabbit hole!

It has been so foggy and misty here every night that for the first time in many years, I did not have a ghost of a chance of seeing anything during the meteor showers. ;-( I hope others were able to take advantage of it!

Dorie,

"... so I cannot take any credit whatsoever for pulling us out of that rabbit hole!"

I'm giving you credit anyway. You posted the link that gave the good information.

"It has been so foggy and misty here every night that for the first time in many years, I did not have a ghost of a chance of seeing anything during the meteor showers."

Same here. The last time I saw a really good meteor shower was when I was a kid. I don't remember what shower it was -- maybe the Leonids. Meteors were coming every few seconds and sometimes there were several trails at once. One came quite close so that we could hear it. It left a lingering smoke trail and looked like it fell on the western part of our farm. Next morning we looked for the crater, but couldn't find anything. The afternoon paper revealed that it had fallen on a farm nearly 30 miles to our west. It made a crater several feet across. A farm boy recovered the meteorite, which weighed quite a few pounds, and later sold it to a wealthy Texan who was collecting them.

I have tried to watch meteor showers many times since, sometimes staying up for hours, but even when the weather was clear, the showers were over-hyped.

I did see the Northern Lights last year, or maybe it was the year before. I stood out in the cold and shivered for nearly half an hour, but it was worth it. Quite a light show, with patterns and movement on a grand scale. Our local TV alerted us to that, which was good of them, because we quit watching the TV and went outside to watch. I guess NASA can't predict the Aurora Borealis much in advance.

MM