Skywatchers

This evening you can see the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks tonight and into the pre-dawn. The article from space.com says: "For skywatchers with dark, clear skies, this dazzling display should produce up to 120 meteors per hour. The Geminids are bits of debris cast off by 3200 Phaeton, a strange asteroid-like object that scientists think might be a burned-out comet."

Yes, others may be able to see them, but here in the desert climate of Boise, it’s raining. So, no show for us. Maybe next year.

And the name, "Phaeton"? The son of the sun-god Helios, who almost accidentally destroyed the earth until Zeus struck him down with a lightning bolt. Phaeton is also: A sporty horse-drawn carriage, a vintage car body, the name of several ships in the British Navy, a hypothetical planet in our solar system (per certain sci-fi writers), and a symphonic poem by Camille Saint-Saens.

We may not see the Geminids tonight. But I can still dream of a pearlescent moon…

There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life - Federico Fellini