Monday, August 12, 2002

Britons watching for meteor shower

After the tech at Lewes Castle tonight - which wasn't much of a tech, since the lights and sound weren't up due to a power shortage (doh!) - I went down to the seafront and sat by the West Pier to watch for shooting stars.

It wasn't quite two a minute, but half an hour on the beach, smoking a fag and watching the skies, saw a handful of Perseids - sharp little streaks across the sky that made the scattering of watchers on the beach say 'oooh!' and giggle.

So I wasn't going to stay out on the beach all night. I came back home at eleven, and I keep popping out onto the balcony every few minutes and looking up at the sky. If I'm lucky, in the corner of my eye, I see another one.

19.37PM BST, 12 Aug 2002
A celestial light show is promised tonight - weather permitting - as the Earth ploughs through a thick cloud of comet dust.
The Perseid meteor shower, which puts on a display at this time every year, is now approaching its maximum intensity.
It will peak tonight sending shooting stars blazing trails across the sky at a rate which could reach two a minute.



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