Are you going to take your children out to look at meteors?

Are you going to take your children out to look at meteors?  Think about it.

You can tell them the true story of St. Lawrence and the myth of Perseus as you watch them.

My favorite memory of watching the Tears of St. Lawrence was when I was in my early 20’s and I was in Italy.  I was staying at ancient Cumae.  I went out and lay down on my back in an enormous tomato patch (San Marzano) near the edge of Cumae’s ancient amphitheater.  Zip! Zang!  Zzzzzip!

From Space Weather:

METEOR SHOWER: The Perseid meteor shower is underway. International observers are now reporting more than 20 meteors per hour as Earth passes through a stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on the night of Aug. 12-13.  The best time to look is during the hours before dawn on Saturday morning, August 13th, when the glaring Moon is relatively low and meteor rates are highest.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for full coverage.

WATCH OUT FOR THE SPACE STATION, TOO:  Consider it a cosmic coincidence.   During the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, the International Space Station will fly over many US towns and cities.  The behemoth spacecraft is easy to see if you know when to look.  Check SpaceWeather.com’s Simple Satellite Tracker for flyby times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys/