When I was a kid I had two passions. Talking back and stargazing. If only I were given a chance to talk back to a teacher while stargazing, I think my life would've been complete. As I got older, it hit me that I could actually make a career out of either of those two hobbies. And now I'm almost done with law school. Guess which one I chose.
As I got older and started caring deeply about fighting for the underdog (ie: I learned to channel my smart mouth into something positive), my passion for stargazing was relegated to a part time hobby. It was briefly revived when my high school astronomy class took a trip up to Yosemite to do some sky-lookin'. Then it died again when I got my physics grade, but that's neither here nor there.
Last night the Lyrids were at their peak. This particular meteor shower lasts about ten days and can be seen almost anywhere. The way I figured it, I would head outside around midnight, put my feet up on some desperately underused patio furniture, and look skyward. I spent a decent amount of time out on my deck, watching and waiting, waiting and watching.
OK, Universe, impress me.
I was not impressed. In 30 minutes, I saw one. One. Seriously.
I went back in the house, totally prepared to write this up in a huff. That's right. A huff. Then I went and looked up some info on the meteor shower - you know - for informed griping. Turns out I did about as much wrong for self-viewing of a meteor shower as is humanly possible.
The best place to face to watch the shower is north/northeast.
I sat on a western exposure deck.
The best time to watch the shower is between 3am and dawn.
I was out there at midnight.
The best place to watch from is the country.
I'm in semi-downtown-ish Ann Arbor.
But guess what, Sky, I still saw one. Bam. Shows you, for, umm, being there.
I had forgotten how nice it is to sit outside and look up at the stars. I love staring up at the sky, looking at a single star and trying to imagine just how big it is up close. Everything is so far away, it almost looks two-dimensional from here. But if I sit there long enough, my mind starts to comprehend the depth of the sky. I enjoy those thoughts very much. I've been told it makes people feel small to think about the size of the universe. For me its more... impressive... than anything else. And I enjoy being impressed.
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