When I logged in yesterday afternoon to check my Yahoo! Mail, something caught my eyes in the news headlines. It was an article about a meteor shower taking place last night and again tonight. This was something I definitely wanted to witness, no matter how exhausted I felt. I was wishing, however, it would have been on Saturday night when I could have slept in on Sunday morning, but.....it wasn't. Woe is me! 
The Perseid Meteor Showers occur when Earth comes into contact with a trail of dust and pebbles deposited by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which is in its 130 year orbit around the Sun. How cool is that? The meteor showers themselves are named after the constellation from which they seem to appear. This one happens to be named after a northern constellation....Perseus. It simply amazes me that these events can be pinpointed to the exact days of when they will take place.
It was pretty warm here yesterday and is even warmer today. Granted, it isn't quite as warm as some of you are experiencing, but the temperatures, coupled with the extremely high humidity, makes things really sticky. I'm not complaining, mind you. It sure is better than putting up with those long, cold winter months. 
After peeling my overly warm body off the chair yesterday, I decided to take a second shower of the day. Then I put on the shortest, coolest pajamas I have. I was actually feeling pretty darn good. Just after 10 p.m., I got a phone call from a friend. He had already heard all about the meteor shower about to take place. We said our good-byes at around 10:30 p.m., which gave me some time to sneak outside before retiring for a peek at that night sky. I put my socks and tennies back on and threw a light jacket over my head. There are a lot of bats around my home.....besides me, that is. I did not wish to see any of them taking dives at me. I grabbed my camera, turned off any close lights, and headed out my front door. I went to the middle of the yard, so I'd have plenty of room to roam. Within minutes, I saw some meteors! One.....two.....no three meteors all traveling in different directions. How utterly spectacular! I kept looking, and sure enough, there were more of them! I could barely contain my excitement. This was fantastic! Well.....it was fantastic until 'IT' happened. Not far from where I was standing, while looking up into that mesmerizing night sky.....something huge moved in the bushes. I'm pretty sure that whatever it was, it was the size of a smaller dinosaur.  It was waaay too close for comfort for me! YIKES!!! Lions and tigers and bears.........OH MY!
My legs were moving at approximately 100 miles per hour when I finally landed on the ground. I made it into the house in record time. I slammed the door shut so tightly that it would not even lock! I think I may have pushed it right through the frame. Oh my gawd......I was so scared!
I'll tell you right now. I about peed in my baby dolls.......... and worse! My heart rate was going at.....I could not even begin to tell you how many RPMs it was racing at.
Now.....these meteors were all over in the night sky. When I climbed into bed, after settling down, I realized that I could have watched them right from my bedroom window. Why....pray tell....didn't somebody mention this to me?  
The 'show' is on again for tonight. I may or may not get the courage to even stand on my front deck with the door knob in hand to watch some of it. If not.....my bedroom window will work just fine for me. 
Yup........There was plenty of beauty in the night sky last night, but there was also a beast in the bush. The beast won. 
Have a great evening!
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read more blogs!
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Blogs by summerbreeze916:
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hoftner
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Aug 12 @ 6:19PM
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 i could so picture you!
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CHARLIgurl1
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Aug 12 @ 6:24PM
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[QUOTEMy legs were moving at approximately 100 miles per hour when I finally landed on the ground[/quote]
Ive been laughing so hard here.. utterly hilarious!!!
I hope youre ok tho. 
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justme836
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Aug 12 @ 6:53PM
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I missed them last night but am planning a bonfire for tonight in hopes to catch a few leftovers.
I pee my pants all the time so don't feel ashamed. 
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WouldntItBeGr8To
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Aug 12 @ 6:54PM
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   Glad you made it inside! I hope one of those meteors HIT whatever it was outside
Here is some info on tonights show:
PERSEIDS
Predicted Maximum: Possibly multiple peaks on August 12 and August 13 (see text)
Moon: Last Quarter (major interference)
(radiant map from IMO)
WHEN TO WATCH: Wednesday morning, August 12, from about midnight until morning twilight gets too bright. Repeat on Thursday morning, August 13.
The Perseids are probably the most-watched annual meteor shower. The shower has a very long duration, from about July 15 through August 25. The shower is most interesting around its peak on August 12 or 13. The "traditional" peak of the shower would occur at around 18:00UT on August 12, in daylight for North America. However, Esko Lyytinen predicts enhanced rates earlier on August 12, with a possible peak around 9:00UT [2:00am PDT; 5:00am EDT]. And if by chance last year's unexplained late peak repeats itself, it could come on the morning of August 13 at 8:00UT [1:00am PDT; 4:00am EDT]. So, there are exciting possibilities for North American observers. Unfortunately, the Moon will be the Perseids' constant companion this year, rising late in the evening and culminating in the predawn hours. A high-elevation, dry observing site should be very helpful to get the most out of the conditions.
The Perseid radiant is above the horizon the entire night for observers north of latitude 32N, but it is fairly low at the end of evening twilight. Morning rates are generally better. Perseids are fast meteors and tend to be fairly bright on average. An occasional fireball is seen. Peak rates with the moonlight this year are likely to be 30-50 Perseids per hour, with a sprinkling of sporadic and minor shower meteors added to the mix. Mornings adjacent to the peak are usually worth watching, although the moonlight will be a hindrance this year.
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Jacksonboy
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Aug 12 @ 9:12PM
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Too bad that big dinosaur did not bite a chunk out of your scabby arse.
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RCFlyer
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Aug 12 @ 10:13PM
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that "beast" was probably another skygazer like you ,stumbling in the dark trying to get a better view....
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lovestobake
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Aug 12 @ 11:17PM
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Sorry, thought you knew I was coming over.
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mystery2u888
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Aug 13 @ 3:56AM
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I am getting a visual of you  I missed it too....... there are a few more coming
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silksox
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Aug 13 @ 4:50AM
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do you reckon it was a baby T-Rex or abadboyraptor?  I mean were those bushes waving gently or THRASHING?
silk
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chubs
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Aug 13 @ 7:43AM
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on tuesday I prepared my boat to take it out on the lake all night to watch the Perseid meteor showers too, got it to the landing and in the water, and sure enough, I looked overhead, and there it was...my back cloud that follows me wherever I go. and sure enough the boat only ran for a few minutes and we had to take it back home. after I parked it in my yard, I sez to me mates, "watch this, it will start now"...I turned the key and sure enough it started right up! well, needless to say no meteor shower watching from way out in the middle of this big beautiful lake tuesday nite, and yesterday it was so hot here that between that and feeling feed up with that black cloud, I didn't feel like changing spark plugs to try get the motor running in the water, like it is supposed to, instead of in my yard. buy, anyway, I hauled out a quilt, a cooler with 4 beers, 2 pillows, and some spy glasses to watch the shover. I heard there could be up to 200 pr hour, but I coundted only 22 in about an hr and a half. then I went bavck inside, (stopped at my lucky 22, and the moon was now out anyway), the hot day had turned into a beautiful cool breezy night with minimal mousquitos, but lo and behold, something came crashing thru my trees too...but it was my skinny cat, delmer, who came and layed with me on the quitl for a while because he isn't mad at me anymore for leaving him alone when I went to Mpls last week! those showers sure were pretty!
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CrackerJackPat
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Aug 13 @ 9:26AM
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Enjoyed the read, my friend. I was just getting ready to ask if you ever DID find out who the beast was.... then saw that LtB "fessed up"
My sister used to be good about sending me info on the meteor showers which are always in August or should I say the most plentiful ones that I am aware of. She gets her info from Farmer's Almanac.
They are wonderful to watch if/when the timing is right and city lights don't drown them out.
Thanks for the share.
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sweetxy
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Aug 13 @ 9:51PM
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I coem to give you kudo , Love your blog Thanks  G/F , I just tried to see if there're some clouds or not and it looks perfect to me ,I don't know how early I should watch,probably 2-4 am I guess as I experienced when I was a child.
My eyes vision not back to normal yet after I got sick but I reallly don't want to miss watching the beauty in night sky tonight, maybe my son or the girl likes to watch it too, would be an amazing night.
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kywonder
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Aug 13 @ 10:35PM
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Crap, I guessed I missed em. I forgot they were due this week. I just went outside, nothing, just stars. Just my luck,
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misschoos
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Aug 18 @ 9:22AM
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I loved this blog...kudos 
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