But they're also beautiful. The stars in the great expanse of space that we can see on any given night are absolutely stunning. Though stars look like glistening specks in the sky, stargazing can really make you feel like just a little speck, but in a lovely way. They make you feel like a speck that has been given the privilege to witness the glory of the Lord and the power He expresses in His creation. A speck that can live in and see and experience what billions of other specks have lived in and seen and experienced. A speck that can look up at those stars and know that we have mastered the ability to travel in space, but the Master of the universe has power beyond that, which we cannot achieve.
And then on top of all of that, we get to see that already magnificent night scene perform a cosmic ballet, or jazz routine, or interpretive dance, or whatever you fancy. During these meteor showers, we become mere spectators of a galactic migration.
Let's see how many space words I can use in this post.
So I grew up seeing the occasional shooting star, as everyone does. But I remember the first real meteor shower that I watched. It was when I was in high school, and I was out in the country at a bonfire that my friend was having for his birthday one December. There weren't many of us there, just some of his close pals. And then we noticed that there were shooting stars flying through the sky overhead. It was like magic; we were all mesmerized. All of a sudden our bonfire was forgotten, and we all were just standing there, our heads tilted back, mouths open, only talking to exclaim, "I just saw another one!"
This is essentially the most nerdy and the most awesome I've ever felt at a birthday party.
The next experience I had with a meteor shower was in college. I had caught the meteor shower fever at that completely awesome birthday party, and I wasn't going to rest until I could see another meteor shower. Okay, that's not true; I rested like every single night. But that's neither here nor there, really.
So one year in college, I stumbled across information telling when the next meteor shower would be. A group of girls that I lived with loaded up in the car and were on a mission: to find somewhere in town that was not lit up bright and that was simultaneously not scary. No easy feat when you're a complete scaredy cat. Also, the sky was just like really bright. So we ended up seeing about one meteor, which was a bummer. But I did get to spend time with some precious friends on a totally awesome adventure. They write about that kind of stuff in sappy novels that get turned into movie adaptations, you know.
Our view of the lone meteor we saw from the parking lot in which we finally stopped to stargaze.
And over the years, I have been a very poor stargazer. I have either not been aware when a meteor shower has taken place, or it has been too cloudy or bright outside to view the meteor shower when I have actually tried to view a meteor shower. I don't know tons of crazy facts about meteors, and I don't have fancy stargazing equipment. I'm actually probably the worst meteor shower semi-enthusiast to ever exist.
But recently I have been kind of longing to see another meteor shower. I few times this past year I would look up when the next one would be, but still haven't managed to make one. And then my desire to see another one was confirmed when one night in Tuscaloosa, when I was driving back to my apartment, a bright flash of light zoomed through the sky. It was so quick, but so bright , that I can only assume it was a meteor. That, or aliens. Probably aliens. No? Okay, whatever.
So when I heard that there was going to be a meteor shower on this night, the night spanning between May 23 and May 24, I knew that I had to try and see it. So I stood outside in the driveway of my family's home in the country tonight, straining my eyes for the tiniest flash of a star streaking across the sky. Nothing. It was still too early. My dad came outside for a bit, and looked with me, before going back inside (and kindly making sure the carport light was turned off for me to stargaze with more precision). It was just me and my dog, whose black fur blended into that darkness that the woods radiates at night, and probably some bugs and some bats (but I don't want to think about that part). And I just stood there, with my sweet dog stretched out at my feet while I looked up at the Alabama sky for way too long, even though it was still too early to actually see any meteors.
But let's be serious, a girl can only do that for so long. After a while of that, and seeing nothing but a very, very faint streak of light at one point (which was probably not a real meteor and was probably just the product of my wish to see a meteor), I went inside to prepare for bed. I took a shower and brushed my teeth, took out my contacts, and crawled into bed. I pulled out my laptop and looked up more information about the times that the meteor shower was supposed to peak, and what areas are the best areas for viewing the meteor shower. I started to write on this blog. And then at 1:04 am, I went to the window and opened the blinds, and tried really, really hard to see a shooting star.
I didn't see one. It was still a little early for it. But hey, a girl has got to sleep.
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