CANCELLED: Perseid Meteor Shower

Due to the weather forecast this evening, this Perseid Meteor Shower program is now CANCELLED. We hope you can join us for another program at the Conservancy! 

However, in lieu of watching for the “shooting stars” on our fields, you could think about joining Alex Storrs for an early, indoor Perseids talk at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum tonight. Visit their Facebook page for registration details:  https://www.facebook.com/events/423746761419014/ 

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to experience, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak!  It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862.  The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright, luminous meteors.  The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24.  It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13.  The thin crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.  Dr. Alex Storrs will have meteorite fragments and high power viewing telescopes to look at planets and moon and will explain the meteor shower phenomenon.  Bring reclining lawn chair or blanket, water, snack, possibly insect deterrent

Photo credit mellamokat of Flickr.

Biographies:

Dr. Alex Storrs is an associate professor in the department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences at Towson University. He did his undergraduate work in X-Ray astronomy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and doctoral work at University of Hawaii with a dissertation on Halley’s comet. He has probably seen more of that comet than anyone else in the human race. After postdocs at Goddard Spaceflight Center and the University of Texas, he worked at Space Telescope Science Institute for nine years, becoming known as “Mr. Moving Targets.”  He is director of both the Watson-King Planetarium and the Observatory at Towson University.