As a kid, I remember my parents teaching me to recognize constellations and pointing out the arm of the Milky Way, but the thing that I loved the most was a meteor shower. I was about ten the first time I remember seeing one on a camping trip, sleeping out all night under the stars with my dad. Shooting stars were definitely the highlight of amateur backyard astronomy.
Growing up on the outskirts of a small town in the Willamette Valley, I’m old enough that it was possible to see things like the arm of the Milky Way and the odd shooting star from our backyard. Now, those things aren’t even visible from the family farm, five miles from that same town. When it comes to my kids, I taught them a few constellations, but our family astronomical observations were usually limited to things like lunar eclipses and passing satellites.
Except, that is, when we went camping. Camping is fun for many reasons, including bundling up tightly to spend an hour or more looking up at the sky (ranked second only to s’mores). My kids first saw the Milky Way while we camped at Olallie Lake, and very likely their first shooting star. This didn’t turn either of them into astronomers, but they’re both enthusiastic night-sky gazers.
At the present time, for us and the vast majority of the population, observing the workings of the universe takes some planning. At the minimum, it requires getting in a car and bringing along paraphernalia like blankets and snacks.
So, since it takes planning, you should schedule it for when something interesting (to kids) is happening, right? Meteor showers are the most showy, even to fairly young ones just starting school. Fortunately, these showers happen on regular schedules. The best and showiest is considered to be The Perseid meteor shower, which happens every year in (drumroll)… August.
This year the Perseids will be on the showier side, peaking around August 13th and coinciding with weak moonlight. The spectacle is already occurring, but since we just saw the full of the Sturgeon supermoon, it’s not easily visible right now. By the end of the month, we’ll have the closest supermoon of the year, the Blue Moon—more on moons below, including the definition of a supermoon.
Slightly older kids can understand the basic science of meteor showers, of course. For an elementary-age-friendly video of meteor science, check out this link. More information can be found easily with an internet search.
But, of course, I can’t help but give you some basics anyway. The Perseid shower is caused by debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, and produces up to 200 meteors per hour, although it’s more likely you’ll see around 100 per hour at its peak. That’s more than one a minute, so I imagine it’ll be adequate for viewing purposes.
Watching any astronomical show would ideally be as simple as lying on the grass and looking up, but as I said, it isn’t. Aside from planning ahead for when to view it, it’s also necessary to determine where to view it from.
When picking a spot, keep in mind not just any campground or park will do. You need one with both an open view of the sky and a high expectation of clear skies, and going to a higher altitude is best. This time of year may be Eastern Oregon, although some of that depends on the current wildfire situation. You can find info on wildfires here, and to discover where the smoke is obscuring the sky check out your local weather source.
Another good option for viewing is the top of any sizable hill or mountain more than a few miles from a city (with the caveat that you probably don’t want to be too close to the coast, depending on the weather forecast). Often there’s a suitable location within an hour’s drive of your town or city. From my house in southwest Portland, I sometimes go out to Bald Peak or Stub Stewart State Park.
For simplicity in planning, look for an organized star party, which is pretty much what it sounds like—a party where people watch stars. The advantage is that they’re organized by astronomy-focused groups, from scientific to amateur, and there will be people on hand who can answer questions or simply make sure you’re looking in the right spot. Sometimes there are telescopes that you can look through already set up. The easiest way to find one of these parties is to search for ones near your location. If you’re in Portland, OMSI is having a free one on the 12th at Rooster Rock State Park. This one is co-hosted by the Rose City Astronomers and Oregon Parks and Rec. Oregon Parks is hosting other star parties near Eugene (at Dexter State Recreation Site) and Salem (at Silver Creek Falls, actually).
If you can’t find a party or you just aren’t in the mood, there are many internet sources listing good places to see stars. Here’s one for people in the Portland area. Note that they list Mt. Tabor, but this probably won’t be dark enough for a good meteor show.
The other “place” you need to know is where to look. Meteor showers are named by where they appear in our sky, and in this case, that means they originate where we see the Perseus constellation. In practical terms, that means a little to the east of north, just under the constellation Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is easier to find than Perseus and is one of the constellations that can be seen from the average city backyard. To find it, find the Big Dipper, then look to the east (left) of it until you find a group of five stars that form either a large “M” or a “W,” depending on its current orientation. If it looks more like an M, Perseus will be below and right. If it’s a W, below and left. If it helps you, the declination is about 40 degrees, but I’ve never been great at figuring out declinations. I think of a 40-degree declination as “between the horizon and the halfway point to straight above.” This is why I’m a writer and not an astronomer or mathematician.
The biggest consideration with kids is getting them to be patient. With 100 meteors an hour, why is the patience necessary? Because even in the darkest of skies, it will take eyes some time to adjust. Specifically, time without any screens glowing into your eyeballs or flashlights swinging around. You may have your own methods for occupying 10-20 minutes of their time in the dark (ghost stories?), but my recommendation is to work on identifying constellations in general before zeroing in on Perseus. The Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and North Star will occupy a few minutes, but if you need more time and aren’t familiar with many star clusters yourself, one of these charts or a similar product will allow you to go out with the kids and start looking.
If you have a more traditional start chart that requires light to read, or you use the internet or an app (I use this one, but there are many), it’s better to identify some features to point out ahead of the big event. You might also arm yourself with some background on how the constellations were named. Here’s a link for the Greek constellation names, but all cultures identified and named star groups. Here’s a basic Hawaiian list, and here’s a selection of some South African astrology myths.
The last major consideration is what to bring. If you can’t live without a light for trips to the bathroom, I recommend a flashlight with a red filter. They can be found for purchase, or you can DIY it.
Bring something to lie on, or sit on if lying down isn’t an option, and (as is often the case in Oregon), dress in/bring extra layers. A bonus item to have is binoculars or even a telescope (they show up surprisingly often in thrift stores). If you’ve never used a telescope before, get in some practice beforehand.
What if you can’t catch the Perseid meteor shower? Well, it’ll come around again, and there are other showers, not to mention other astronomical sights coming up or regularly present. This is just one example of a list of upcoming events.
The above recommendations for viewing the meteors apply to all night-sky observations, and of course, there are more phenomena to be seen. Even within the city, there are sights in the night sky, such as super moons. I promised more info about the super blue moon coming up at the end of August, didn’t I?
A blue moon is a second full moon in a single calendar month (although technically, it originally meant something a little different, but in general, that’s how the label is applied). A supermoon occurs when the moon is full while extra close to Earth. It can seem up to 30% larger than other moon appearances. Interestingly, all moons have names depending on when they rise. If you want to bore entertain your kids with a list, check this out.
Planets in our solar system are an easy thing to find, and most are visible with the naked eye in even heavily light-polluted areas, although you need to be somewhat familiar with their orbits. Last year, when Jupiter was particularly close to the Earth, I was able to stand in my Portland backyard with binoculars and see it and two of its moons.
On any random night, there’s a number of satellites passing, and many phone apps will tell you which one it is. The most exciting satellite to see is the International Space Station. It cruises by regularly—it’s been passing over for the last few days, actually—and when I say “cruises,” I mean it moves very fast. To find out when and where to see it, NASA provides a handy webpage called “Sight the Station.”
One final suggestion should your kid(s) be interested in astronomy is to take them to view things through a very high-powered telescope. There are lots of astronomical observatories that have public viewing events, often very close to cities or towns. Flagstaff, Arizona, has a very good observatory—Lowell, where Pluto was first detected—within the city limits that hosts regular public events. Within Oregon, there are a number, including the Haggart Observatory in Oregon City.
Who knows, maybe by introducing a child to astronomy, you’ll raise a real-life Picard. It didn’t work with my kids, but I’m hopeful it will work for someone else’s.
