August 9th, 2008 is the annual Meteor Shower Campout at Caesar Creek State Park Beech. The MVAS has been attending this over-night event for many years. The state promotes it on their web site, http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/explore/calendar/08augevents/tabid/1858... 7 - 11 PM at the main beach. Bring your lawn chair and blanket and watch shooting stars brighten our summer skies. Enjoy games and crafts until dark, and then stargaze. Some telescopes provided. Free camping on the north grass lawn. For information call 513-897-2437.

But there is more. The scheduled games and crafts are fun for the kids. A local raptor center from Yellow Springs, Ohio has been there in the past years to show off some of their owls. The MVAS (Miami Valley Astronomical Society) along with CAS (Cincinnati Astronomical Society) attended and has had more then two dozen telescopes set up in the grass next to the main shelter.

Pat Freeman and Mike Smith who have belonged to both astronomy clubs gave a Power Point presentation on the introduction to the night sky. This year Pat will give a presentation that includes the Messier list of objects in the night sky. All or most of the images were taken by Pat and some pictures he took in the park.

Be prepared; do as much of the work before attending. If you bring a telescope make sure it works. So not to get frustrated, there will be other scopes to look through. Remember it is necessary to be comfortable. Once you get there, finding your favorite lounge chair is a must. Also don’t over eat; a
big meal will put you to sleep. Apples or grapes are a good snack; they can provide enough
energy to stay awake. If you bring a snack tray cover it to keep the dew away. I will bring some decaf green tea, not a well known fact is that caffeine messes with your eyes and can make you crash. The weather does not always cooperate so bring a light jacket or dress in layers and enjoy a campfire on
the beach. Also plan a walk to help keep you awake. There is a lot to see in the sky. I have The Sky Astronomy software package and use it to obtain the planet report for the night.

The Moon is one day past first quarter and makes for an early target. It rises at 3:32 PM and sets at midnight. The Sun sets at 8:40 PM. All of the telescopes that are set up will be aimed first at the Moon.
At dusk for August 9th, look west. Five planets might be seen in the west. Mercury sets at: 9:16 PM. Venus sets at 9:30 PM. Saturn sets at 9:41 PM. Mars sets at 10:13 PM. Can you name the fifth planet? It’s the Earth. At 9:00 PM Jupiter is in Sagittarius so it is low and to the south 19° above the horizon and sets at 4:00 AM on 8/10/2008.

I went to heavensabove.com and found visible satellite passes at Caesar Creek State Park, 39.5139°N, 84.0206°W. For the International Space Station, I found a decent ISS pass. It starts at 8:56 PM ten degrees above the horizon to the West North West and goes to the South West and at 8:59 gets as high as 26° above the horizon with the brightness of -0.5 magnitude. This may change if the space station moves to a higher orbit.

Look up your location in the heavensabove.com data base and print a list of satellites orbiting for the night. It will help to keep your eyes focused on the sky to watch for the Meteors flying overhead. Gary Kronk's Meteor Showers page is a great resource. This meteor shower gets the name "Perseids" because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. One can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as a few weeks before the August 12th peak, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. There is a slow build-up, perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. A peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 can be expected under dark skies and then rapidly declining to about 10 per hour by August 15. The last night meteors are likely to be seen from this meteor shower is August 22, when an observer might see a Perseid every hour or so. Thanks Gary.

From science.nasa.gov I found the following. The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, the residue of the comet's tail does intersect Earth's orbit. We go through it every year in August. Tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light--a meteor--when it disintegrates. Because Swift-Tuttle's meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids." Comet Swift-Tuttle orbits the Sun, and sheds its icy, dusty tail along the orbit of the comet. The Solar wind can move this tail and the comets many orbits make exact predictions hard to determine. When Perseus is at the meridian, it is three o’clock local time and it is the best time to see the meteor shower. And you can look anywhere even just above the horizon to see a meteor with the radiant point going back to Perseus.

I obtained this from science.nasa.gov. Treat meteor-watching like you would the 4th of July fireworks. Pack comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drinks, blankets, plus a red-filtered flashlight for reading maps and charts without ruining your night vision. Binoculars are not necessary. Your eyes will do just fine.