Great Balls of Fire!2

I was drunk. I need to admit that. Drunk as a sailor on leave. I was also laying flat on my back, beer in my hand, on a trampoline. Most of my friends were there that night. One of them was really high, and earlier we had an argument about what we were gathered to observe: a meteor shower. In my alcohol induced wisdom I was directing everyone’s eyes toward the skies. It was this alcoholic wisdom that made me overlook the fact the Earth rotates and thus stars do not sit stationary all night long. I preached like many a crazy preacher man, that the stars were moving, and that THAT was what we got there to see. HAH-LE-LOO-JAH!

[GoGo Suicide in Til The Sun Turns Black]

My friend, as high as i was drunk, said that he had seen the stars move in a circular motion, and then oscillate on a somewhat horizontal manner. My counter was that they had moved indeed, but on a perpendicular manner, following the curvature of the sky, standing in front of me and doing a 180 degree with me as the radius.

It was then that a blue ball of fire crossed the night sky. That was what we were there to see, not the crazy alcohol or pot induced machinations of our minds. I sobered up immediately And that was the first of many. It got to a point where, in a minute, we could see up to 80 shooting stars per minute… it was a night to remember.

That was 5 years ago.

Tonight, we all have the chance to run to areas where light pollution is not too much, and lift our eyes to the heavens and see the great balls of blue fire return. Tonight is the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower. So, grab a bottle of wine, grab a blanket, grab that special some one, your favorite SG if you will, and head out and look up. You will not be disappointed.

This meteor shower can be seen all over the northern hemisphere, and its caused from debris from comets: small pieces of ice and stone around the size of grapefruits and what not. The best thing about this annual meteor shower, is that you don’t really know what surprises the night has in store for you.

* More info: Perseid Meteor Shower About to Peak – How to See It