My wife and I sat in camp chairs looking up alongside dozens of other curious stargazers. Suddenly, shouts of awe and joy rang out. We'd all spotted a meteor streaking across the sky at the same time.
We'd driven from Los Angeles to the parking lot of the Mt. Pinos Nordic Base, which I'd been told was the closest darkest place to L.A., and were thrilled to find several amateur astronomers and their telescopes dotting the parking lot.
We were all lucky that night to catch glimpses of a handful of shooting stars. But you, dear Wilder, have the opportunity to witness far more in the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks Tuesday night into early Wednesday, between midnight and dawn. And even if you can't make it out to see this meteor shower, I've outlined below how to observe others later in the year.
Before we boldly go into where you can see the Perseids near Los Angeles, I wanted to share what I've learned about meteor showers, which I hope deepens your appreciation for them as it did mine.
When you're gazing upward to view a meteor shower, you're observing space debris, including just "little tiny almost grains of sand"-sized objects, burn up as they slam into Earth's atmosphere at a speed of tens of thousands of miles per hour, said Vanessa Alarcon, astronomical observer at the Griffith Observatory.
In the case of the Perseid meteor shower, you're watching debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle as it neared perihelion, its closest approach to the sun. Comets are "cosmic snowballs." When one gets closer to the sun, Alarcon told me, ice and rock start vaporizing off the comet, leaving a debris field behind.
Earth is orbiting through that debris field, as it does every August. The Perseid meteor shower is named as such because as you're watching, it appears as if the meteors are emanating from a point in the constellation of Perseus called the "radiant point," Alarcon said.
Scientists have found that it takes Swift-Tuttle 133 years to orbit the sun once.
I assumed that the current Perseids meteor shower was from debris left over the last time Swift-Tuttle swung by -- and could be seen from Earth with the naked eye -- in 1992. I was wrong and delighted over what I learned.
"In general, I would say the particles in the Perseids are at least many hundreds of years old, if not thousands of years old," Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, told me.
As you're watching debris slam into the Earth, consider that a long time ago, someone else was looking up at the sky, watching Swift-Tuttle leave that space dust behind. Humans have been observing Swift-Tuttle since at least 69 BC, when Chinese records noted a "guest-star" moving in the southerly direction across the sky.
The comet will swoosh across our sky and be visible to the naked eye in 2126. Perhaps a baby born today will get to be a happy 101-year-old looking up at the sky, watching Swift-Tuttle leave behind space dust for a meteor shower even further into the future.
First, let's set expectations. This year, the moon will be at 84% full when the Perseids peaks next week, which will make it challenging to see many of its shooting stars. Alarcon told me, though, that studious sky watchers will still spot meteors. And I personally think seeing even a few is still pretty cool. (Alarcon told me she's spotted meteors even at Griffith Observatory, right in the heart of L.A.!)
Times contributor Matt Pawlik compiled this great list of suggested locations where you can spot the Perseids. I'll add a few spots to that list.
But first, here's how I found them. I used a light pollution map to determine where the darkest places near L.A. might be. I knew I'd probably be mostly looking in Angeles National Forest. I knew I wanted to find spots at higher elevations to get above the light dome of L.A., along with any marine layers and smog. Lastly, I wanted to find spots with clear views of the northern and northeastern sky because, per Stellarium, I could see that the Perseus constellation would rise from that direction.
Some spots near L.A. to consider:
If you are lucky enough to spot the Perseids, you can help contribute to science by reporting it to the International Meteor Organization. About 4.3 million meteors have been reported to its Visual Meteor Database. Just over 8,000 meteors have been spotted this year by 62 observers. You could add to the list.
Also, if you do go out hiking at night, please bring friends or family and pack accordingly. Also, make sure someone outside your hiking party knows where you're going and when to expect you back.
Other meteor showers this year include:
I asked Alarcon, whose job it is to ensure Griffith Observatory's telescopes remain in tip-top shape, what it is about meteor showers that continues to take hold of the human psyche and delight us so much.
"Part of it, I feel like, as an L.A. native, is that it's because we're always deprived of [night sky], so it's nice to go out and try to recognize things our ancestors across the world ... had a fascination with," she said. "It's getting back to human roots."
1. Bike and learn about oil fields in Inglewood
The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter will host a guided bike and bus tour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday starting in Culver City. Participants will learn about the environmental challenges created by the Inglewood oil fields and about conservation efforts in the Ballona Wetlands. Attendees who bike will take the Park to Playa Trail 5.6 miles each way, while bus riders will take a chartered bus to various locations for walking tours. Register at sierraclub.org.
2. Hike under the full moon in Long Beach
The Los Angeles Hiking Group will host a four-mile full moon walk at 6 p.m. Friday around Naples Island in Long Beach. The group will meet at the Crab Pot (215 N. Marina Drive). Participants have the option to meet up for dinner, drinks and dancing at a nearby restaurant after the hike. Register at meetup.com.
3. Fly a kite in L.A.
The Gratitude Group's Adam Weiss will co-host a nature walk and kite-making event with Adventure Squad from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Griffith Park. The group will nosh on coffee and doughnuts before heading to a forested area of the park to make kites. They will fly the kites at a vista lookout point. A minimum donation of $10 is requested. Register at eventbrite.com.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate the below-average temperatures we experienced in July because that's ending soon. Times staff writer Hannah Fry reports that downtown L.A. could reach the mid-90s by the middle of next week. Woodland Hills and Burbank, both near several great trails, could see triple-digit temperatures. "We're not looking at temperatures like we've seen in some previous summers, where we've gotten to 120 degrees, but it's certainly looking like 5 to 10 degrees above normal," said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. We'll count that as a small blessing, I guess!
L.A. County Parks and Recreation recently posted a teaser for its annual "Pooches in the Pool," when it allows dogs to swim in county pools before they're drained for the season. The event is usually sometime around Labor Day. I asked the parks department for further details, but they're not ready to spill. "Before a doggy can get soggy with it, we are still finalizing swim dates for our canine chums," the department's communications team wrote to me. "We won't keep you treading water for too long." The response at least made me snort with laughter. I will keep you posted.