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 Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:09 pm
Do you enjoy stargazing? Harbor an interest in astronomy? Feel like staying up all night? Quote: Looking for a good reason to enjoy an August evening? This year's Perseid meteor shower peaks TONIGHT -- Friday, Aug. 12 and into tomorrow morning -- Saturday, Aug 13. The Perseids are considered the best meteor shower of the year by many, but with the full moon washing out all but the brightest meteors, rates will probably only be 20-30 per hour at most -- weather permitting. The Perseids rate in the southern hemisphere is quite a bit lower, since the Perseid radiant doesn't climb above the horizon. Make plans to chat with NASA astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as they answer your questions about the Perseids via live Web chat. Join them on Friday, Aug. 12 at 11 p.m. EDT -- this will be Saturday, Aug. 13 at 03:00 UTC GMT -- then make plans to stay "up all night" until 5:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 13.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:22 pm
This is something for me to watch out for, since I will have to be up so early... Maybe I'll just stay up and keep an eye out.
By the way, I love your new signature.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:37 pm
I'm sad it's so overcast here and that I'm so tired. Maybe I'll manage to catch a glimpse of it though.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 11:53 pm
I went out for a bit but it's just so bright out. Bad night for a full moon! Matasoga By the way, I love your new signature. Why thank you mrgreen
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:34 am
I went out as well, but it seems it's no less bright here, in addition to being overcast. Still, I did manage to catch sight of one or two. Hearing something scream out in the woods turned out to be more interesting than watching for the meteors...
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:51 am
It was too bright and overcast here as well. Plus the security lights didn't help any I imagine. mourn_of_blades I went out as well, but it seems it's no less bright here, in addition to being overcast. Still, I did manage to catch sight of one or two. Hearing something scream out in the woods turned out to be more interesting than watching for the meteors... Oh, what was that? Why was there screaming in the woods?
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 5:15 pm
Saber Talawyrm Oh, what was that? Why was there screaming in the woods? Just some animal being caught by a predator, most likely either a deer or an exceptionally loud rabbit. I didn't hear all the yapping that gives away the local coyotes or coyote/dog hybrids on the hunt, so I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't one of the pumas that caught it... 
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:12 pm
mourn_of_blades Just some animal being caught by a predator, most likely either a deer or an exceptionally loud rabbit. I didn't hear all the yapping that gives away the local coyotes or coyote/dog hybrids on the hunt, so I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't one of the pumas that caught it... Ah, are pumas the same thing as cougars? I think we have those here too though I've never seen one.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:34 pm
Saber Talawyrm Ah, are pumas the same thing as cougars? I think we have those here too though I've never seen one. Yep. I usually call them cougars too, but the last few times I used that, people thought I was talking about the other kind... rolleyes A handful of years ago I caught a fleeting glimpse of one, and later on found a few tracks. Haven't seen any since, even though the next year I'd heard that people with wildlife preservation released six black ones roughly a mile from where I'm staying. You live in Washington, right? If that's the case, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you had any around there.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:09 pm
mourn_of_blades Yep. I usually call them cougars too, but the last few times I used that, people thought I was talking about the other kind... rolleyes A handful of years ago I caught a fleeting glimpse of one, and later on found a few tracks. Haven't seen any since, even though the next year I'd heard that people with wildlife preservation released six black ones roughly a mile from where I'm staying. You live in Washington, right? If that's the case, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you had any around there. Ah, I've haven't heard puma used much, I usually hear mountain lion. It took me awhile to realize that mountain lions and cougars were the same thing. Yes but I'm on the desert side so they're a bit less common then in the more mountainous areas.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 11:03 pm
Saber Talawyrm Yes but I'm on the desert side so they're a bit less common then in the more mountainous areas. Huh, I never knew there was desert terrain in Washington. I'd always thought it was mostly (if not all) coniferous/temperate mountains... 
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:36 am
mourn_of_blades Huh, I never knew there was desert terrain in Washington. I'd always thought it was mostly (if not all) coniferous/temperate mountains... Most people don't. Eastern Washington is desert, not sand and cactus desert or anything but we have lots of dead grass and sage and barely any rain. I live in an oasis area but it's still really dry and hot.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:30 pm
Saber Talawyrm Most people don't. Eastern Washington is desert, not sand and cactus desert or anything but we have lots of dead grass and sage and barely any rain. I live in an oasis area but it's still really dry and hot. That's interesting. I would've thought they'd at least make mention of that in high school geography classes, if nothing else... confused
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:15 pm
mourn_of_blades That's interesting. I would've thought they'd at least make mention of that in high school geography classes, if nothing else... confused Maybe. It's also possible that it's just the locals that call it a desert. We're probably considered semi-arid. It's definitely not like the rest of Washington though. I think I read somewhere we have a yearly average precipitation of 8 inches and it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:12 pm
Saber Talawyrm Maybe. It's also possible that it's just the locals that call it a desert. We're probably considered semi-arid. It's definitely not like the rest of Washington though. I think I read somewhere we have a yearly average precipitation of 8 inches and it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter. You're probably right. Still, I would've expected some note of the differences. Ah well.  I figured the winters out there probably weren't very pleasant. Unfortunate that you've got bad summers too though.
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