Space spectacular
Early this morning... that was spectacular! Despite the light pollution from streetlights, skies here were clear and it was possible to see a lot of meteors. And the colors! Green and orange and yellow fireballs. Sometimes several at once, or a couple that visibly broke apart and paths diverged.
Given that these are cometary remnants, I suppose that the yellow ones might contain sodium (water ices?), the greenish ones perhaps ammonia-ice-rich and perhaps metals or dirt in the orange ones? In any case, they were beautiful!
I got up at 2am and went out on my driveway, then roused Pat (who thanked me later :-) and then my 11-year-old son James (who was *really* impressed... and it became one of those father-son experiences, standing quietly together looking into space at 3am).
The Harry Potter movie this afternoon was fun, but couldn't hold a proverbial wand to nature's show (grin). And my son is a confirmed Potter fanatic otherwise...
Given that these are cometary remnants, I suppose that the yellow ones might contain sodium (water ices?), the greenish ones perhaps ammonia-ice-rich and perhaps metals or dirt in the orange ones? In any case, they were beautiful!
I got up at 2am and went out on my driveway, then roused Pat (who thanked me later :-) and then my 11-year-old son James (who was *really* impressed... and it became one of those father-son experiences, standing quietly together looking into space at 3am).
The Harry Potter movie this afternoon was fun, but couldn't hold a proverbial wand to nature's show (grin). And my son is a confirmed Potter fanatic otherwise...