Watching shooting stars

One of the great things about where I live is the lack of light pollution. Vancouver is a diffuse glow low down over the portage between Mudge and Link islands. Victoria another, much smaller, glow beyond Saltspring Island. If you look directly upwards you can see, not just the major stars, but the diamond dusted background of the Milky Way. Last night we went over to friends for drinks, and ended up just after ten standing in the middle of the street, necks craning upwards at the stars, watching a couple of satellites almost zip across the night sky, with the occasional needle like flash as an early Perseid meteor streaks through the Earth's atmosphere.

Tonight promises to be an even better light show, and we are going round the neighbourhood asking friends to turn their outside lights off (They only attract the mossies anyway), just for the next night or two. Bottles of wine and beer are being purchased for a sort of unofficial 'meteor party'. The weather forecast is promising, and Friday night looks like being excellent.