A Perseid meteor scratches the sky for a second or so about 100 miles above the Earth. David Levy photograph, Summer 2016.
Summer is my favorite season, and Summer is also my favorite granddaughter. When I was growing up in Montreal, summer was the only time of year when the weather was warm enough to spend large amounts of time out of doors. With trees in full bloom, the quiet, sunny days of summer were really something to anticipate.
Summer in Arizona is different. With temperatures soaring well above 100 Fahrenheit degrees each day, going outside is an adventure fraught with peril. In fact, with a predicted high of more than 112 degrees last Sunday, I had to cancel my weekly bicycle ride and be careful to remain indoors as much as possible.
Further north, the temperatures are not quite as stifling, but on August 21, it won’t matter. On that day the shadow of the Moon will work its way across the United States, giving viewers in the United States, for the first time in 38 years, a total eclipse of the Sun. The eclipse is the obvious highlight of the summer of 2017. But as hot as the days of summer might get, the nights offer the real blessing. When the sky is clear enough, the pre-dawn temperatures remain in the pleasant 70s. Saturn, with its exquisite rings visible even through a small telescope, shines brightly in the evening hours. The Milky Way arches overhead like a highway. And sure enough, in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, a great dark rift resembles an exit ramp, pouring starlit traffic off that highway amongst the stars of Ophiuchus.
There will be two big meteor showers this summer. Around July 21 the Delta Aquarid meteors will visit, emanating as lovely, fast-moving streaks of light coming from the constellation of Aquarius. Just two weeks later, the Earth will cross the orbit of a wondrous comet. Discovered in 1862 by Louis Swift and Horace Tuttle, this comet’s orbit crosses the Earth’s path every 120 years, at which time we encounter a stream of meteors called the Perseids.
Finally, this summer will offer something unique besides the eclipse. On July 30 the Earth will cross the orbit of Comet Borisov, a large comet I observed two years ago. When that happens there may be yet another meteor shower, visible best for observers in southern Europe and Africa. But could there be some meteors here as well? No one really knows; the best thing to do is to watch and see.
Wherever you are this summer, the sky offers a cornucopia of wonderful things to see, and for most of what I have suggested, you do not even need a telescope. Simply enjoy the evenings and the nights, look toward the sky and enjoy the cosmic sea of which we are a part.
