The Indianapolis Museum of Art is making its 100 Acres available for those who want a good view of Friday’s Perseid meteor shower. Gather near Kendall Buster’s Stratem Pier in 100 Acres to view this yearly meteor shower which consistently delivers 60 meteors per hour at its peak. The thin crescent moon will rotate early setting the stage for a potentially spectacular show. Viewing is accompanied by sci-fi sounds courtesy of the Sea Krowns. The IMA suggests bringing a blanket, flashlight, chair and a telescope to enhance your experience. Park at the Fehnel Entrance off 38th Street or the main museum parking lot. Admission for this event is free. Event will be canceled in the event of extreme cloudiness or rain. Visit imamuseum.org for updates.
Watch the Perseids Meteor Shower at the IMA's 100 Acres on August 13.
I just checked the weather and according to wthr.com, Friday will be mostly clear and hot. As our 9-year-old son received a telescope for his birthday, he has become very interested in star gazing. This seems to be a perfect opportunity to put the new telescope to use. Of course, you can watch the meteor shower from anywhere; however, according to skyandtelescope.com, the meteor shower will be best viewed from a dark spot with an open view. They also recommend bundling up to stay warm (I don’t know about that as this is the hottest week of the year) and to repel mosquitoes (I think Off or some other mosquito repellent would work as well). They say the best direction to watch is wherever the sky is darkest, usually straight up. At a very dark rural site, they say you can probably expect to see over 100 meteors an hour when the radiant (in northern Perseus) is highest in your sky probably before the first light of dawn.
The shower lasts for many days and this year’s peak should happen during the night of August 12-13 between 18 h (6 p.m.) and 7 h (7 a.m) universal time according to the International Meteor Organization (IMO).
The Perseid Shower lasts for more than one night. Rates are about 1/4 to 1/2 the peak for one or two nights before and after the peak.
So find a good spot and see how many meteors you can count.
