PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: The Perseid meteor shower is underway, and the best is yet to come. Over the next 48 hours, Earth will plow through a stream of debris from giant Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, producing dozens of meteors per hour under dark skies. Step outside after midnight and watch for bright, fast fireballs streaking from the constellation Perseus. Pro tip: Get away from city lights.
PLANETS VS. CITY LIGHTS: Events in the night sky are often invisible to city dwellers. Urban glare makes it impossible to see faint stars and delicate meteors. This week, however, the night sky wins. Venus and Jupiter are in conjunction, and they are nearly as bright as street lights. Jaehyun Sim sends this picture from Seoul, South Korea:
"The planets were so bright, I was able to photograph them using nothing more than my iPhone," says Sim.
This means anyone, anywhere can see the conjunction. Step outside just before dawn and look east. The two planets are side by side, shining like a brilliant double star in the constellation Gemini. Got a picture? Submit it here. Sky maps: Aug. 11, 12, 13.
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"ALWAYS AND FOREVER" METEOR CRATER PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan in Arizona's Meteor Crater. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It's a diamond lookalike that, until the 1950s, was found naturally only in meteorites.
On Aug. 2nd, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $229.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever," the sterling silver frame bends around the Moissanite in a heart-shaped curve--all highlighted by glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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