MARS ROVER LANDS SAFELY ON MARS!

August 6th marks a new future for our space program. Mars rover Curiousity safely landed on Mars to begin a two-year mission.  (go to Science Sharing page for more on Curiousity)

PERSEID SHOWERS PEAK AUGUST 11 -13

While you might spot a meteor any day this month, your best chance is 11 pm to dawn Saturday, the 11th and Sunday, the 12th. During this time, you might see an average of a meteor a minute. Lay down in a reclining lawn chair or on a blanket and look up at a dark part of the sky with a wide open view. I like to lay on my driveway to avoid the dew on the grass. You may see streaks that are white or green. HAPPY HUNTING!

THE METEORS ARE HERE!

August means starting school for many of us, but for everyone around the world, it is the month of the Perseid Meteor showers. Meteors, sometimes called Shooting Stars, look like bright streaks of light across the sky. We can’t see them during the day because the sun is too bright. This year should be a good year for seeing meteors because the moon is in its waning crescent phase, which means a darker sky. The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Both Earth and the comet orbit (move in a path) around the Sun. Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, bits of the comet's tail gets in Earth's orbit. These tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph creating bright streaks of light as they burn. Because Swift-Tuttle's meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, they are called Perseids. For more information and pictures open the Space link: Meteors: Great Perseids-NASA Science.