This 2009 Perseid Meteor Shower Review was compiled by the staff writers here at Outer Space Universe.  We – as I am sure all of you – were anxiously awaiting the peak of the Perseid show which took place in the early morning hours of August 12, 2009.

There’s been a lot of news this year about the fact that the Earth was going to be passing through the remnant trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle with the extra bonus that we would slam into a filament of dust spun from the comet during it’s last journey around the sun.  That was enough for us to stock up on our favorite guarana laden beverage and forgo the REM sleep our bodies so desperately want. We’re professionals here and there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for our readers.

So there we were, during the small hours of the day staring up at….THE MOON!  Yes, the celestial mechanic thought that this year would be a good year to toss up a waning gibbous moon that was 58% full.  That, in and of itself wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact that there was a significant amount of moisture in the atmosphere courtesy of a strong warm front visiting from the Gulf of Mexico.  This caused the entire sky to be washed out with a grey glow from our friend, the Moon.

Did we give up and go to sleep?  No!  We squinted and searched long into the night and were rewarded by the occaisonal Perseid Meteor that was bright enough to overcome the brilliance of the moon.  We even saw a satellite pass slowly overhead.  Are we disappointed?  Heck no!  Spending the night watching the sky is what we live for…..we’ll be out there again tonight because it’s not over yet.  Besides, there’s always next year.  Just ask Edward Herrick.

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