Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder where you are
Up above the earth so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
I don't remember when I saw my first falling star and made a wish on it...but I do remember when Kayla, my granddaughter, saw her first falling star. She has followed my lead in watching for them for years. We would find a dark spot, lean back in a chair, or lie on a blanket and watch for that bright streak across the dark sky. Most of the time Kayla was pointing at a moving plane insisting that it was a falling star.
And then last year, when she was eleven, there was no doubt that she saw her first falling star. We had gone to Weldon Springs for their Annual Night Watch for the Perseids Meteor Shower (Falling Stars) and just as we got out of the van I hear Kayla's breathless "Ahhhhhh!!!!" Then she starts exclaiming, "I saw a falling star..I saw a falling star...it went clear across the sky! I saw my first falling star!!!"
That is what I love about seeing a falling star...it is that first moment of awe...that first intake of breath, before you can even speak...it is the wonder of it all.
I love falling stars.
When I see one I want to see more.
Be watching for them now. It is building up to the best falling star nights on August 12 and 13. If it is not cloudy you will see some. If you are really lucky and catch it just right you will see a lot of them. One time I saw 75 in half an hour...very unusual. And that was here in Decatur, if I had been in the country away from city lights it would have been more. It was totally Amazing!
For more information about the best viewing for the Perseids Meteor Showers go to this site. http://skytour.homestead.com/met2010.html#anchor_9
