The second and largest of three super moons rises on Sunday August 10 and it also happens to be the beginning of the Perseids Meteor Shower.
A super moon is when a full moon is at the closest point it will be to the earth appearing extra large and the Perseid Meteor Shower come around every year at about this time. Typically 60-100 meteors per hour can be seen but this year, because of the super moon, you will more likely see 15-20 meteors per hour, but still worth the effort!
The meteor shower peaks August 12-13. The best time to see the meteor shower is between 11PM and before dawn. View from a place with as little light pollution as possible.
Patapsco Valley State park is offering a star gazing program for the special event. Look through telescopes and hold a real meteor in your hands.
Call for more information or for reservations if you are part of a group of 10 or more. The program is from 8-10pm meeting at the Soldiers Delight NEA Visitors Center and is free, donations welcome.
Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area Visitors Center
5100 Deer Park Road in Owings Mills, Maryland, 21117
443-732-0020 for more information or reservations
http://dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/central/soldiersdelight.aspx
Other places in Maryland to look through a telescope include:
Crosby Ramsey Memorial Observatory at the Maryland Science Center
601 Light Street, Baltimore
http://www.mdsci.org/science-encounters/observatory/
Stargazing Fridays
Howard B. Owens Science Center Planetarium
9601 Greenbelt Road • Lanham
Public open house second Friday of every month from September through May
http://www1.pgcps.org/howardbowens/wipage.aspx?Pageid=178442&id=117246
Rock Creek Park Planetarium
5200 Glover Road, NW
Washington D.C.
http://www.nps.gov/rocr/planyourvisit/planetarium.htm
University of Maryland Observatory
Metzerott Road between Adelphi Road and University Blvd in College Park
Open Houses on the 5th and 20th of every month, see website for special programs
http://www.astro.umd.edu/openhouse/
Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center (NCEEC)
5300 Turkey Tayac Place, Nanjemoy
See calendar for public viewings (usually first Saturday of every month at various locations in Southern Maryland
http://www.smas.us/
If your kids are really interested in planets, stars, galaxies and black holes they may be interested in the free public lectures at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD. Each month a noted scientist discusses a different cosmic topic. Lectures are at 8 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month in the STScI auditorium, on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.
http://hubblesite.org/
All images taken by Hubble Telescope
For more ideas of fun places to visit over the summer click here for the 100 Days of Summer
