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Perseid Meteor Shower Watch
Don Surles
Delmarva Star Gazers will host a Perseid
Meteor Shower watch the night of August 11/12, 2005, at the Pickering Creek
Audubon Center. The Center is on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Directions are
below.
The evening will begin at 7:00 PM with
a cookout followed by an overview of amateur astronomy activities at 8:00
PM and a get acquainted tour of the night sky beginning at 9:00PM. There
will be a few scopes set up for viewing the wonders of the Summer Milky
Way. The meteors should begin before midnight and continue until daybreak.
The Center will provide hot drinks and snacks, I am sure there will be
some hotdogs before dawn!
We are planning for this to be an
all-night event. There will be facilities for catching a nap if necessary.
Please bring a sleeping bag and extra layers of clothes since the night-time
air can become cool and uncomfortable after midnight. A comfortable lawn/lounge
chair aids in the meteor watching. I like to use a small tarp folded in
half to provide a barrier from below and above, a pillow also helps.
I plan to get a nap before beginning
the trip home. Breakfast at a local Fast Food Facility is a possibility.
This site is very dark and close to
the water, so there is a possibility of some stray mosquitoes. You should
consider a can of OFF, Cutters, DEET, Skin-So-Soft, or your favorite insect
repellent/food.
Please call 410 822 4903 (ask for
Lisetta) for additional information. Please put August 11 & 12 on your
calendar, this should be a great night outside! Bring your cameras, scopes,
binos, etc, and enjoy this excellent star gazing opportunity!
Directions to Pickering Creek Audubon
Center
From Baltimore
* Take I-97 to Route 50/301 in Annapolis.
* Take Route 50 East over Bay Bridge, and continue towards Easton.
* Pass by Routes 213 and 404. At mile marker 58 turn right onto Route 662
(Route 662 crosses Route 50 a couple times, so make sure you turn at mile
marker 58). * Follow 662 through the town of Longwoods, past a red school
house, and turn right onto SHARP ROAD (the first turn after RABBIT HILL
ROAD, which is on the left). * Follow SHARP ROAD for 1.5 miles. *
Turn right onto the continuation of SHARP ROAD (there's a sign there for
SHARP ROAD to PRESQUILE ROAD) and follow for 1.25 miles. * A Pickering
Creek Audubon Center sign is on the right hand side. Turn right and follow
the gravel driveway until the first turn. The welcome center is on
the left. Office phone: 410-822-4903.
From St. Michaels
* Turn onto MD-33 toward Easton. Continue
to follow MD-33. 7.5 miles. * Turn LEFT onto MD-370/UNIONVILLE RD.
Continue to follow UNIONVILLE RD. 3.7 miles. * Turn RIGHT onto TODDS
CORNER RD. 1.1 miles. * Bear to the LEFT to stay on TODDS CORNER
RD. 0.9 miles. * Turn RIGHT at the stop sign onto PRESQUILE RD.
* Pickering Creek Audubon Center is your first left and marked with a sign.
From Easton
* Turn onto MD-33 toward St. Michaels.
Continue to follow MD-33. 2.1 miles. * Turn RIGHT onto MD-370/UNIONVILLE
RD. Continue to follow UNIONVILLE RD. 3.7 miles. * Turn RIGHT onto TODDS
CORNER RD. 1.1 miles. * Bear to the LEFT to stay on TODDS CORNER RD. 0.9
miles. * Turn RIGHT at the stop sign onto PRESQUILE RD. * Pickering
Creek Audubon Center is your first left and marked with a sign.
From south of Easton
* Take Route 50 north towards Easton.
* At the Municipal Airport, turn left onto AIRPORT ROAD and take the immediate
right hand turn onto Route 662 or LONGWOODS ROAD. * After a small
bridge, turn left onto SHARP ROAD. Follow SHARP ROAD for 1.5 miles.
* Turn right onto the continuation of SHARP ROAD (SHARP ROAD to PRESQUILE
ROAD) and follow for 1.25 miles.
* A Pickering Creek Audubon Center
sign is on the right hand side. * Turn right and follow the gravel
driveway until the first turn. The welcome center is on the left. |
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