Here is what I learned this morning from http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide
“The Perseid meteor shower is perhaps the most beloved meteor shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. The shower builds gradually to a peak, often produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour in a dark sky at the peak, and, for us in the Northern Hemisphere, this shower comes when the weather is warm. The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. They radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero, but, as with all meteor shower radiant points, you don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower; instead, the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. They are typically fast and bright meteors. They frequently leave persistent trains. Every year, you can look for the Perseids around August 10-13. In 2013, the Perseid meteors will streak across the short summer nights – August 10-13 – from late night until dawn, with little to no interference from the waxing crescent moon. Plus the moon will be near the planet Saturn in the evening hours, giving a colorful prelude to late-night Perseid show. Best mornings to look: August 11, 12 and 13.”
So, I will have to wait until next August to see this meteor shower. I learned a little more from http://www.space.com/22332-perseid-meteor-shower-peaking-now.html:
“The Perseid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-August when the Earth passes through a dusty trail of leftovers from Comet Swift-Tuttle, a comet that orbits the sun once every 133 years. Most of this comet debris, which is made up of bits of ice and dust, is more than 1,000 years old, according to a NASA description.
As the Earth passes through the Swift-Tuttle debris stream, the ice and dust fragments slam into the atmosphere and burn up, creating one of the best meteor showers of the year for stargazers.”
Because I did not want to be inconvenienced trying to figure out where to look, I missed an opportunity to watch a meteor shower. The truth is that all I would have had to do was look up.
There is a bigger opportunity that I am not going to miss; the return of Jesus Christ. All you have to do is look up.
Acts 1:9-11
After He (Jesus) said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
Jesus will appear in all parts of the sky, but you do need to know Him to join Him.
Matthew 25:11-13
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."
Jesus return will be incredibly more spectacular than the Perseid meteor shower. Are you ready and watching?