Waiting for a Star to Fall

At 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday a dedicated cadre of students rose from their beds. They were on a mission. Some yawned and headed to Soldiers Field, while others swung their bags over their shoulders before wandering off to the Science Center. All directed their eyes toward the skies, looking for lights shooting through the darkness, or more specifically, burning chunks of rocks and ice vaporizing in the atmosphere.

This year NASA forecasted not just a meteor shower, but a meteor “storm” with more than 2,000 meteors per hour visible in darker suburban areas, and approximately 700 meteors per hour visible in Boston. Kids from the Outing Club led the trek out to Soldiers Field, while other students ventured to the roof of the Science Center. Some dedicated astronomy students made a pilgrimage to Gloucester, so they could avoid the city lights and catch the 2,000 per hour show.

A bleary eyed and exhausted FM made an effort to talk with the laziest folks— the kids who opted for viewing at the Science Center. Their laziness was not rewarded. The roof was packed with pods of people lying on their backs, huddled together for warmth. Some of the more resourceful students brought air mattresses, but the masses remained exposed to the cold concrete. The lights of Boston, the full moon, the telescope domes and some mild cloud cover all worked against the stargazers. The relative lack of meteors, combined with the cold and the early hours fueled quite a bit of griping. One student joked, “I think when meteor showers start to suck they should just set off fireworks to please me.” Jonas A. Budris ’06 had a more resigned attitude, “I’m starting to feel like Jack from Titanic—you just have to let go.” Later he remarked, “You know it’s cold when you start crying”. Others put a positive spin on the arctic conditions. Lindsey A. Freeman ’05 called it a great venue for a date: “No matter what, it’s ultimately romantic—the cold provides a reason to get close.” Her date, Francisco Aguilar ’05 nodded in agreement, but when Freedman added, “I want to be proposed to under a meteor shower,” he seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Despite all the complaints, there were beautiful meteors that streaked white and blue across the sky. Every few minutes the whining was punctuated by “oooohs” rising from the crowd. There was a notable lack of “ahhhs” missing from the reaction—who knows why. Of course, all the oohing only made those who had missed the meteor more bitter. Ann Marie Cody ’03 an officer of STAHR, the astronomy club that publicized the shower admitted that “700 meteors per hour was probably overly optimistic.” Eric C. Bellm ’05, another officer added that he had only seen about 15 meteors, and that the main problem was the light pollution from Boston and the full moon. The meteor shower will continue with less intensity until the 21st, so find a field outside the city, relax and enjoy the romance of burning rocks.