LOOK UP: Fanciful poems and big-budget movies and picture books and psychedelic posters and planetarium laser light shows are wonderful and strange things indeed, but they haven't yet replicated that excited feeling of witnessing a shooting star. That can't be planned and it can't really be duplicated (yes, Hollywood special effects wizards, you do a fine job, but we're talking about the experience of standing under the whole of the night sky and seeing a star stream overhead). But, there are ways to make your chances slightly better in the seeing-a-meteor department. Meteor showers, which scientists kindly and very accurately predict for us, are prime times in which to head outside for some choice shooting-starry action. (Spoiler alert: Those shooting or falling stars are really meteors, though "shooting meteor" maybe doesn't sound as lyrical.) And if you want to really increase your chances of seeing one, you should head to a dark place, say the desert, during a predicted shower.
AND LO AND BEHOLD... there is one on the horizon (not literally, although that sounds a bit astronomical). It's the Perseids Meteor Shower, and it is due to charm star-watchers on Saturday night, Aug. 10 and into Sunday, Aug. 11. Borrego Springs Resort & Spa has once again invited sky-smartie Dennis Mammana to show with his telescope and talk with guests about what is going on during the shower (and, fingers crossed, see a few meteors in action). Bonus? Other "amateur astronomers" will be in the house, or, er, under the night sky, to talk all things Perseids. The resort is offering a "Rain of Fire" special going for $99 a person. That includes your sky-watching, dinner, a box breakfast, and a room. Will you be up late, though, watching the celestial show? Here's hoping it is a whizbanger. C'mon, Perseids, impress and delight us.
SPACE... is infinite, but space at this event is very, very limited. Tempted? Drop the Borrego Springs Resort & Spa a hello with your interest, pronto.
