Did you make a wish last night? by Ana Maria Ciobanu

The annual Perseid shower occurs when the Earth's orbit crosses the path of debris thrown off by Comet Swift-Tuttle. If last night you were far away from city lights, with no moon in sight to interfere with the Perseid meteor shower, and willing to watch the Universe's fireworks show you probably saw streaking fireballs. If you stood up late you saw more than 100 "shooting stars" per hour- enough to wish your whole future... This year's sky show came with a bonus. Mars was visible as a bright red dot in the northeastern sky. And it was a remarkable show indeed. Watching it from the Astronomical Observatory in my city, made me feel like a lead character in a science fiction movie. Dim meteors appeared as a flash of light, while the brighter ones left a beautiful glowing streak. The Perseids zipping the sky reached their peak just before sunrise. The sky looked as if someone up there was painting the wonderful landscape with the speed of light. If you by any chance missed the Perseids premier you can try gazing at the sky these days because the show isn't actually over. The Perseids are visible for several nights after the big show so you'll get your shot at wishing upon a "shooting star". Make sure you don't waste it and be careful what you wish for.

by Ana Maria Ciobanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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