August 2010 Perseid Meteor Shower . . . Fun, Tired + Hungry!

Observing the August 2010 Perseid Meteor Shower on Mt Hood near Portland, Oregon with the kids. Kelsey (Kiki), Matt (MattAttack) and I had a great time. There was no appreciable moon and the weather was perfect with clear skies.

At 5,960 on the shoulder of Mt Hood we were well above and isolated from light pollution of the city. The stars were spectacular! You almost could reach out and touch them. The Milky Way was a beautiful band arching over our heads.

We found a great little pull off to observe the skies. The "StarMap" app on my Apple iPhone quickly got us orientated in the correct direction.

We were blessed with a number of shooting stars in all locations on the compass rose, as well as, a number of Persieds! It was a great night of stargazing topped of with a quick snack at the Gresham Sharis before returning home for some much needed sleep.

Timberline Lodge
http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

Starmap - Apple iPhone App
http://www.star-map.fr/

Starmap Review on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQAykz2pJTM

The SkyGuy
http://skyguy.com/

Perseid Meteor Shower - SkyGuy on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZwsPsjKJsA

Star Gazing & Meteor Shower Observation Tips from NASA
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-119

"The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a great show this year, peaking in mid-August with a display of dozens of shooting stars each hour.
The Moon will be out of the way, leaving dark skies for good viewing as Earth plunges through an ancient stream of comet debris. Little bits, most no larger than sand grains, will vaporize in Earth's atmosphere, creating sometimes-dramatic "shooting stars."

"It's going to be a great show," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. "The Moon is new on August 12, which means no moonlight, dark skies and plenty of meteors." This year the Perseid meteor shower could deliver one or two visible streaks every minute during peak times, Cooke said in a statement yesterday. Urban skywatchers will see fewer due to local light pollution.

The meteors in this shower all appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus. The best times to watch will be late night Aug. 12 through dawn Aug. 13."
SOURCE: Make: Online
(Article regarding 2007 Perseid Meteor Shower)
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/08/perseid_meteor_shower.html

Created on August 13, 2010 using FlipShare.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• meteor
• shower
• stars
• Mt Hood
• Portland
• Oregon
• Timberline Lodge
• Apple iPhone
• Starmap iPhone App
• USNERDOC
• MattAttack
• NASA
• FlipShare

[MongoWongo777]

Thanks for sharing. You have a very nice family. What is the red device you are looking at in the beginning of the video?

[USNERDOC]

@MongoWongo777 - iPhone running the SkyMap App with red night vision turned on

[clintgilliam]

I kept watching thinking they would actually show some of the meteor shower!!! Disappointment. lol

[USNERDOC]

@clintgilliam - you should try photographing a meteor shower ;-)

[emeraldpegasus]

eh wheres the meteor shower!!????

not even a star to show!?

[USNERDOC]

@emeraldpegasus - very hard to photograph!

[chivs2oo6]

dont know but i liked the girl in it !

[SirPhartsUhlot]

Hmmmm..................the Perseid Meteor conversation. Needs more cowbell.

[john1112112]

can i correctly assume that Ft. Hood is near Mt. Hood?

! where can u get breackfast at 4am?!

[HawaiiIceMan]

Sharis is an awesome late night place to eat!!!!

[CampfireTalk]

So were you guys tied & hungry : )

I was able to see some of the meteor shower while out on a camping trip. Made it easy if I got tied I just rolled over & hit the sack.

USNERDOC CREW ROCKS!

[jacoblangworthy]

great video glad to see people take the time and stay to witness such an extraordinary event .

[cromeister777]

Doc you gotta feed those kids more!

[Cr0cket20]

Way to get out and view the meteor showers. I always want to but it's hard to stay up that late. Good for you guys. Mmmmm, hashbrowns and bacon...two of my favorites.

[jokermann77]

I saw a bunch of shooting stars last night after my run around 0230 CDT (08/13/10).