On Wednesday just after you get home from work — at 8:40 p.m. to be exact — Earth and the debris left over from the Swift-Tuttle comet will reach their closest point of the year. And that means, in the lyrical description of the Moscow Planetarium, "the heavens will speak to the Earth in the language of meteors." Up to 100 "falling stars" will be seen every an hour.
This is called the Perseids meteor shower because the flashes of light seem to be coming from a spot near the constellations of Cassiopeia and Perseus. This year nature's silent fireworks display promises to be particularly good, since a full moon won't be around to ruin the show.
So pack up a blanket and the warming or cooling beverage of choice and head as far away from light as you can get, for example, to one of the city's parks. Lie down, look up and prepare to be awed.
And if it wets your appetite for more celestial adventures, go to the wonderful Moscow Planetarium.
Moscow Planetarium. 5 Ulitsa Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, Bldg. 1. Metro Barrikadnaya. Their website is in English, as are some of the shows. planetarium-moscow.ru.
