This year’s Perseid shower occurs in dark, dark skies — just 3 days after the new moon. No doubt the best meteor shower event to stay up for in 2010. At the peak on August 12th, you can expect 100 meteors per hour.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Perseid+meteor+shower+2010
Thanks, Swift-Tuttle comet!
Why party? For one thing — if you’re of drinking age anyway — this is the last time you’ll have the opportunity to celebrate the union of a full moon and the Winter Solstice in your lifetime. (This won’t happen until Dec 21, 2094.)
Not only that, but if you’re in North or South America, you can look forward to a full eclipse of the moon. Totality begins around midnight Pacific time if you stay up late on Monday. See:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moon+eclipse+dec+2010
HOWL! Dance! Celebrate the return of the sun and the antics of the moon…
Hope you had a *great* 2010. Drop me a note to tell me how your party went.
– Canton Becker
canton@gmail.com