New Yorkers can be cynical about a lot of things (their commute, their rent, human nature), but they're willing to entertain an optimistic attitude when nature offers them a good show.
Residents around the city ventured outside Wednesday night trying to catch a glimpse of this year's Perseid meteor shower, which, as of that afternoon, was shaping up to be the "most spectacular since at least 2008."
What we're seeing when we watch the annual meteor shower is dust and ice from the trail of the Swift-Tuttle Comet, the orbit of which intersects with the Earth's at the end of every summer. That debris burns up in our planet's atmosphere, creating a bright astral spray that appears to shoot from the Perseus constellation, named for the hero who beheaded the monster Medusa in Greek mythology.
According to Jason S. Kendall, a board member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, New Yorkers willing to stay up past midnight should have seen anywhere from 50 to 100 meteors an hour last night from viewing locations free of street-lighting.
But escaping light in a metropolis is easier said than done, as many city residents lamented on Twitter.
NYC is great for a lot of things, but absolute rubbish for naked eye astronomy. #lightpollution #Perseids
— /_\ Druu (@Druufucious) August 13, 2015@BilldeBlasio I know it's last minute Bill, but can we dim some lights for the #Perseid meteor shower?
— Ashley Foy (@AshleyFoyNY) August 12, 2015#meteorshower in NYC. #LightPollution pic.twitter.com/pJX45wKe5d
— Benjamin O'Keefe (@benjaminokeefe) August 13, 2015The National Weather Service had also promised New Yorkers clear skies Wednesday night. Some meteor gazers noted that forecast didn't hold true citywide.
Dear clouds, please go away immediately. #perseids #meteorfail #sadness
— cyoung888 (@cyoung888) August 13, 2015@weatherchannel What's the deal, B? NYC skies are cloudy? How am I supposed to get my Perseid Meteor Shower on?
— [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅5̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] (@BloodyHoof) August 12, 2015The sheer difficulty of spotting meteors in the city made their sightings all the more miraculous for those who did catch them.
Tonight's #meteorshower experience was just like the experience children have when they try to catch Santa Claus in the act
— Soulin Haque (@SouLinNeeD) August 13, 2015Thank you, Universe, for the show #PerseidsMeteorShower #Perseids #meteorshower
— Samantha Pierre (@sam_pierre) August 13, 20152:30am: "just one more" ....4:15am: "Just one more" #meteorshower
— daron smith (@daroncsmith) August 13, 2015Especially when the spectacle was completely unexpected.
Woke up at 3am randomly to find I am in the midst of a #meteorshower. Magic.
— YK Hong (@ykhong) August 13, 2015Optimists will be happy to know that there will be more chances to try to see the meteor showers, which are supposedly visible for the next few nights.
