I'm your supernova girl!
Last night I stayed up till dawn watching the Lyrid meteor showers.
Astronomy lesson: The Lyrids is one of the oldest meteor showers known. They were first logged in Chinese atrological records in 687BC. The shower happens every year when Earth crosses the orbital path of the Comet Thatcher. The meteors are actually bits and pieces from the comet plunging into Earths atmosphere. Okay, end lesson.
I drove out with Mia, Mike and Adrian to Rice Lake, about an hour west of Minot where it was so dark that the stars were bright enough to reflect off the lake.
I have NEVER in my entire LIFE seen a sky so cluttered with stars. Constellations I used to have to fight to see or use a telescope to make out were just popping out of the sky.. I think I annoyed everyone with my constant exclamations over how beautiful it was. I was really worried when it was overcast most of the day, but throughout the night there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was truly amazing.
We spread some blankets out on the shores of Rice Lake to watch the show. The show itself was a lot better than expected, averaging 20 meteors per hour, though most of them were very faint and quick. There was one meteor that literally lit up the entire eastern side of the sky and left a bright streak behind it for a good 15 seconds. BEAUTIFUL!!
There were only a couple of tiny lights out in the distance, so Mia and I, being easily scared and over-imaginative California girls, were jumping at every little noise and sound in the dark.
So when we had to use the restroom we decided to go together and share the flashlight in the little public port-a-potty. One of my ways of coping with being jumpy in the dark is by trying to scare other people. So as I'm standing in the stall facing the wall waiting for Mia to finish her business I begin my, 'You know, in scary movies this is when the flashlight would go out and then a creature will...'
And I kid you not, as I was talking THE FLASHLIGHT STARTED DYING!!! Seriously! I turned around to face Mia to show her I wasn't joking, and the last thing we see on each others faces before the flashlight flickers and then slowly dims out is looks of, 'Oooooohhhh SHIT.'
We both started screaming and bolted out of the restroom, just to bump into the guys who were sneaking up planning on scaring us, which only made the screaming worse. Somehow the screams turned into hysterical laughter as we tried to explain what happened. I am seriously investing in some heavy duty camping flashlights today. Hehehe!
So anyway, I had a blast last night. If the Lyrids were this impressive, I'm impatient to see what the Perseids will look like this August! *gets impatient* ^_^
Okay, coffee time for Gynjii...
Astronomy lesson: The Lyrids is one of the oldest meteor showers known. They were first logged in Chinese atrological records in 687BC. The shower happens every year when Earth crosses the orbital path of the Comet Thatcher. The meteors are actually bits and pieces from the comet plunging into Earths atmosphere. Okay, end lesson.
I drove out with Mia, Mike and Adrian to Rice Lake, about an hour west of Minot where it was so dark that the stars were bright enough to reflect off the lake.
I have NEVER in my entire LIFE seen a sky so cluttered with stars. Constellations I used to have to fight to see or use a telescope to make out were just popping out of the sky.. I think I annoyed everyone with my constant exclamations over how beautiful it was. I was really worried when it was overcast most of the day, but throughout the night there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was truly amazing.
We spread some blankets out on the shores of Rice Lake to watch the show. The show itself was a lot better than expected, averaging 20 meteors per hour, though most of them were very faint and quick. There was one meteor that literally lit up the entire eastern side of the sky and left a bright streak behind it for a good 15 seconds. BEAUTIFUL!!
There were only a couple of tiny lights out in the distance, so Mia and I, being easily scared and over-imaginative California girls, were jumping at every little noise and sound in the dark.
So when we had to use the restroom we decided to go together and share the flashlight in the little public port-a-potty. One of my ways of coping with being jumpy in the dark is by trying to scare other people. So as I'm standing in the stall facing the wall waiting for Mia to finish her business I begin my, 'You know, in scary movies this is when the flashlight would go out and then a creature will...'
And I kid you not, as I was talking THE FLASHLIGHT STARTED DYING!!! Seriously! I turned around to face Mia to show her I wasn't joking, and the last thing we see on each others faces before the flashlight flickers and then slowly dims out is looks of, 'Oooooohhhh SHIT.'
We both started screaming and bolted out of the restroom, just to bump into the guys who were sneaking up planning on scaring us, which only made the screaming worse. Somehow the screams turned into hysterical laughter as we tried to explain what happened. I am seriously investing in some heavy duty camping flashlights today. Hehehe!
So anyway, I had a blast last night. If the Lyrids were this impressive, I'm impatient to see what the Perseids will look like this August! *gets impatient* ^_^
Okay, coffee time for Gynjii...