Thursday night was the apex of the Perseid Meteor Shower, so we headed to Stub Stewart State Park for the Star Party. We got there early because we can't resist walking all around this gorgeous park. Then we had a picnic as the sun went down. The skies were perfectly clear, and just as Venus appeared in the sky, the crescent moon was setting. The Planetarium Director from OMSI was there to give us all kinds of information about the night sky, and with a screen set up to project star charts, to show us exactly how to find various constellations. The Rose City Astronomers were there to generously share their telescopes. Jasper got to see Saturn and its rings, and a nebula with some wispy details. But of course the meteors were the stars of the show. Even without the meteors, just being far enough from the lights of the cities late at night made the night sky a dazzling sight. There were about 1,200 people gathered there to witness this amazing annual phenomena.
The next and last Star Party of the year will be on Saturday, September 11, as usual at both Rooster Rock State Park and Stub Stewart State Park. More information here:
http://www.rca-omsi.org/ .
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Thimbleberry |
In the forest, we tried to find flowers (and berries) of all colors of the rainbow, as we did on our
last visit. There was a nearly complete changing of the guard, with new wildflowers taking over. Here's some pictures and some tentative identifications. (I was really surprised how many of the lovely flowers we saw were invasive species!)
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| St. John's Wort |
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| Bird's Foot Trefoil |
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| Common Vetch |
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Heal-all |
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| Foxglove |
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| Canada Thistle |
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| Queen Anne's Lace |
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| Rough-skinned Newts |
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