Perseid Meteor Shower Reflections

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

NASA Photo

 Lately I've been back in that "Sleep, Interrupted" Prostrate problem mode, which is dismaying and frustrating. I go to sleep just fine then have a jolt awake every hour or three all night long. Then, along about 4 a.m. or so my brain decides it wants to start the day, and it drags my body along with it. I start thinking about the day ahead, what I've left undone from yesterday, bills I have to pay, worries about this and that—perhaps this sounds familiar to some of you. For me, there's no fighting it. Might as well engage.

But last night was different. Oh, I still awoke at 4 a.m. shaking off some kind of anxiety dream (I can never remember them clearly). But this time my brain gave me a gift. It said "Perseids!"
The Perseid meteor shower is a favorite aspect of the late summer natural history calendar. Caused by the the Earth's atmosphere passing through the cosmic dust particles left in the trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids are a concentrated shower of meteoric activity usually occurring in late July through mid-August. The dust particles from Swift-Tuttle's trail enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up, appearing as bright streaks of light zooming across the night sky. The 2015 Perseids got the astronomy community all fired up because they coincide with a new moon (meaning a naturally dark sky) and clear, cool weather. In other words, perfect conditions for watching the Perseids.

I shuffled out of the breezeway door from my kitchen to the back patio deck and settled in for some meteor spotting. Instantly there was one, then two more, then another, but bigger, brighter. I thought about all the other people who might be watching this same sky right now. We are connected in this night watch.

I thought about the Northern Rhode Island ( Pawchaquet or Nipmuc) Native Americans who may have watched the Perseids from this very piece of land a few hundred years ago, before this was Rhode Island. I thought of the ancient peoples watching the meteor showers and wondered what they made of them. Good omens from the gods? My mind kept up its random traversing of time and topic. Did the migrating birds flying overhead at night see the Perseids? Surely they must...
  I heard something coming towards me thru the woods and the now dry vernal pond and my mind raced on the possibilities of species. Black Bear ? Coyote? Ferrell Dog ? Wild Boar ?
 It came and left very quietly and after daybreak I went down to the area to play inspector Oliver Wendell Holmes to unravel the mystery. Clear White Tail Deer hoove prints in the mud from a yearling looking for water and found our hosta shade garden for a buffet that must have tasted like lettuce.
  I was lost in thought when the screech-owl started its soft tremolo. It made me feel better. Somehow more centered. And the stresses and worries of the day ahead receded. The vast inky black sky bejeweled with stars, planets, and meteors lent me a more rational perspective. I felt my breathing getting slower, deeper. I was drifting in the peaceful middle of a beautiful moment. I stayed in it as long as I could.

Nature has always been my go-to remedy for tough times. It's always available. It's free. It leads by example. It asks for nothing in return. I can't imagine, nor do I wish to, where I'd be without it.

Sleep well, my friends.
Some Source Material Bill Thompson III