The Night Sky Festival coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks Saturday with up to 100 shooting stars per hour visible under clear dark skies.
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. — Under the dark night sky Friday night, a hush fell over the crowd of about 600 visitors spread across the lawn and benches at the Shenandoah Skyland Amphitheater as ranger Dani Goodman launched her slide show talk on the history of stargazing. She spoke about Galileo, the constellations in the prehistoric Lascaux cave paintings in France, and Greek mythological figures for whom the stars are named.Then at about 10 p.m.
As the occasional cloud veiled the stars, Goodman harnessed the audience’s energy to clear the sky: “I want this cloud to go away, so everybody blow!”Just as the visitors craned their necks up to Cygnus flying through the Milky Way, a shooting star streaked the sky, just to the right of her green laser beam … and the crowd simultaneously burst out in awestruck joy: “Ooh!!!”
The enormous crowd gathered at the amphitheater were there for a star party on the first night of Shenandoah National Park’s. Park officials expect about 2,000 people to come this weekend for the event, which was launched in 2015 and is held annually during the Perseid meteor shower. This year’s festival — the first full-fledged event since 2019 after a pandemic hiatus — coincides with the peak of the Perseids.
The Perseids, which streak across the sky at 37 miles per second from mid-July to the end of August, are created by the dusty trail of debris left byAdvertisement The comet’s debris heats up when met by friction from the Earth’s atmosphere and lights up. The Perseids — named for the constellation Perseus, which is where the meteors appear to come from — are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere in the hours before dawn, though it may be possible to see them as early as 10 p.m.The Night Sky Festival is being celebrated at various locations in the park from Friday to Sunday, free with park admission.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Perseids to Light Up the Philly Region as Moon WanesThe Perseid meteor showers will reach their peak this weekend, coinciding with a minimal moon interference and potentially favorable weather conditions. Find out where to catch a glimpse of this spectacular event in the Philly region.
Read more »
The 2023 Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend! Here's what you need to know.The Perseids are one of the highlights of the meteor hunters' calendar.
Read more »
Perseids meteor shower 2023 might be the best in yearsThe Perseids occur every year in July and August as the Earth passes through the cloud of dust left by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
Read more »
Perseids Alert: Best meteor shower of the year peaks this weekendBegin your meteor vigil around 10 p.m. on Saturday, with the best viewing in the wee hours of Sunday.
Read more »