Persona Under the Illative Barrage,

The Perseid meteor shower swept in and made me to want to watch. I’ve never had much success with astronomical events. What should I expect with little understanding of the geography of the night sky and not viewing equipment?

It was cloudy on the night of the shower’s peak intensity, Sunday. The following night was my chance, we had clear skies. The glow of the street lights made viewing difficult from home. I was desperate to see some meteors, however, I did not want to be mugged or abducted. I opted to head out in my automobile, I drove north by north east. Driving slowly on the empty roads of the countryside, I watched the sky, as well as the road. I saw 6 meteors and was not involved in any Betty and Barney Hill-type scenarios.

Just streaks of light across the sky, that’s all they were. They were quite good but somehow 6 wasn’t enough. I saw a further meteor, my best sighting, upon turning into my street.

I’ve seen meteors or “shooting stars” before. The chance sightings of these outstripped my experience of this forecasted meteor shower, both were aesthetically equal (take note of how I downplayed beauty and drained majesty from the spectacle), but good fortune betters meeting expectation.