Water and Sky: Floating on Cranberry watching the Perseid
Barb Wallace, Ohiopyle State Park environmental education specialist, uses a computer app to identify planets and stars above Cranberry Glade Lake while Kathy Firestone of Connellsville looks on. Wallace lead a fleet of sky-watchers onto the lake to enjoy the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Associated Press
In this early morning photo, a meteor streaks past the faint band of our Milky Way galaxy above the Wyoming countryside north of Cheyenne, Wyo., during a Perseids meteor shower.
If you are reading this, you possess all the equipment you need to enjoy a rare and beautiful outdoor event. What you do not have is much time. The Perseid meteor shower peaked last Thursday night but continues, if somewhat diminished, for the next several nights.
The Perseid shower happens every August, when Earth鈥檚 orbit of the Sun takes it through the veil of dust, ice and space-debris trailing a comet also orbiting our nearest star.
As earth passes through the comet鈥檚 spoor, its gravity pulls debris toward itself. When those particles 鈥� some as small as a sand grain 鈥� strike our atmosphere at unimaginably great speed, they flame out from friction. We see their streaking demise as 鈥渟hooting stars.鈥� But they鈥檙e not stars, of course; they are meteors, the small but spectacular tracks of a comet with which we share this solar-centered swath of space.
Meteors collide with earth鈥檚 atmosphere all the time, but far less frequently than during the annual Perseid spectacle. These mid-August meteors are named 鈥淧erseid鈥� because they seem to originate from the constellation Perseus, which rises over our northern horizon now at about 10 o鈥檆lock every night.
To see the Perseids, go to some dark place away from the ever-worsening light pollution, position yourself in a comfortable chair and gaze upward. Astronomers says it鈥檚 best to look generally northward but the meteors can appear anywhere overhead. It takes as much as a half-hour for human eyes to fully acclimate to darkness, so don鈥檛 rush it. Enjoy the break from television鈥檚 vision-deadening glare and endless political blather.
Nine area residents made a special effort to enjoy the show Thursday night. With kayaks and rafts lashed to vehicles they met at the Ohiopyle State Park visitor center. From there, park Environmental Education Specialist, Barb Wallace and Environmental Interpretive Technician, Amos Ludwig led the group to Cranberry Glade Lake atop Laurel Ridge. Under a rising half-moon, amid the thrum of bull frogs and the chant of katydids, they launched their little flotilla then clumped loosely together at mid-lake 鈥� to watch the sky for meteors.
鈥淲e brought you up here because the sky is normally dark and because we like boats and water,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淲e try to come up with a theme for every year鈥檚 educational programs. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥榝un.鈥� If it didn鈥檛 seem like fun, we didn鈥檛 plan or offer it. Welcome to the year of outdoor fun.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e not astronomers,鈥� Ludwig said as he briefed the floating assembly, 鈥渂ut we are here to encourage you to take advantage of this astronomical event and to help you understand what you are seeing. We鈥檙e in what鈥檚 predicted to be an 鈥榦utburst year,鈥� with greater numbers of Perseid meteors than normal. Astronomers say that tonight, given good conditions, observers could see as many as 200 meteors per hour.鈥�
The meteors weren鈥檛 expected until after 10, so Wallace and Ludwig used the earlier hours to ponder more predictable icons of the August night sky.
鈥淚f you think of the moon as the center of a clock face, the planet Saturn is the bright object at about 8:30, and Mars is directly below the Moon at 6 o鈥檆lock,鈥� Wallace explained.
Wallace said that with good binoculars you can see Saturn鈥檚 rings, then pointed out Mars鈥� reddish glow, conspicuous despite the lunar brightness.
The first meteor flashed at just before 10, and it was spectacular. While most meteors appear as a brief streaking point, this one was both bright and broad, spewing a trail of sparks, like the comet from which it came but in smaller scale.
From then on, though, the pace was slow. Despite leaning back in their boats and gazing skyward until near midnight, the fleet counted about a dozen meteors.
Viewing conditions, though, were far from ideal.
A cloud bank encroached from the north, brightened by lunar reflection. And lightning coursed across the sky dome almost as frequently as bull frogs bellowed from the shallows. But the lake was mirror-calm, and the humid air was cooling along the ridge crest.
All agreed, meteor outburst or not, they were glad they鈥檇 ventured out on a mountain lake in the middle of the night.
鈥淭his is such a cool idea for an outing,鈥� said Mike Quinn of Deer Lake. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen meteors from my deck at home but when I read about this in the paper I knew I had to try it. It鈥檚 beautiful out here. More people should take advantage of these opportunities.鈥�
Wallace was glad to hear that uttered across the water.
鈥淭he bottom line for us at Ohiopyle State Park is that we want to forge stewards of our natural resources by getting people outdoors. If you know nature, you will love it,鈥� Wallace reflected. 鈥淲e are so lucky to have this amazing place. Our aim is to expose people to it and all its features, which are always there, but not always obvious.鈥�
All educational outings and programs at Ohiopyle are open to the public and free of charge. To know what鈥檚 offered check the Outdoor Calendar in this paper or visit www.dcnr.pa.gov.