Latest / Austin Signal / How to get the best view of the Perseid meteor shower in Austin this week

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How to get the best view of the Perseid meteor shower in Austin this week · Austin Signal

0:08
We are one week out from the start
0:10
of the new Austin ISD school year,
0:12
and after announcing last week a
0:13
change in how students would be
0:14
shuffled to and from campus,
0:16
the district has changed course on a
0:18
few things. We've got the details,
0:20
and the proposed development of
0:21
Dog's Head in Southeast Austin
0:22
continues to move forward, despite
0:24
what some feel is a lack of public
0:25
input. That is not stopping
0:27
neighbors from speaking out.
0:28
We'll share what's on their mind,
0:29
coming up on today's show.
0:31
The Austin Signal is a production
0:33
of KUT News, hosted by
0:35
Jerry Quijano.
0:36
You've got a decent chance to catch
0:37
some meteors tonight in the Austin
0:39
sky, what you're looking at and
0:41
where to look.
0:42
Plus, Waterloo Records has been
0:43
hosting in-store performances for
0:45
almost half a century.
0:47
Never been? Not to worry, we are
0:49
taking you there next.
0:51
Plus, a whole lot more coming up
0:53
right here on Austin
0:55
Signal.
0:59
Thank you.
1:05
Howdy out there, thank you for
1:07
tuning in. This is Austin
1:09
Signal. I'm your host, Jerry
1:10
Quijano. It is Monday, it is
1:12
August 10th. We're glad you're here
1:14
with us.
1:16
Austin ISD students will be heading
1:17
back to school next week after
1:19
their summer break comes to an end.
1:21
But what students and teachers will
1:22
be heading into this upcoming school
1:24
year could look pretty different
1:26
compared to last school year.
1:27
For more about that, we are talking
1:29
with KUT's education reporter,
1:31
Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez.
1:32
Greta, thanks for being here.
1:33
I'm always happy to be here Jerry.
1:35
I know your summer break is almost
1:37
over, but you really haven't had a
1:38
summer break from AISD because there
1:40
has been so much going on that you
1:41
have been following right up until
1:43
last week. Last week, there was an
1:45
announcement that AISd made a
1:46
decision on plans for how to
1:48
transport students to campus.
1:50
Can you give us a refresher on those
1:51
plans?
1:52
Yeah, so for high school
1:54
students, students won't be picked
1:56
up at neighborhood bus
1:58
stops, they will be picked at hubs.
2:01
And so these hubs are going to be
2:03
at elementary schools or ACC
2:05
campuses or even cat metro
2:07
stops.
2:08
And they tend to be an average,
2:10
the district said, 2 to 2.5
2:12
miles from students' homes,
2:14
with the longest distance being 3
2:16
miles.
2:16
Okay, so there will be these set
2:18
areas, basically, where people go to
2:19
get picked up.
2:20
Yes, that's correct.
2:21
Okay, so you mentioned high
2:22
schoolers. What about for middle
2:23
school students?
2:24
Yeah, so originally the plan also
2:26
included middle schoolers, so it was
2:28
both for high school students and
2:29
middle school students.
2:32
To back up a little bit, the change
2:34
came because the district, as
2:36
you may know, is in a budget deficit
2:38
or had a big budget deficit and
2:40
it was one of the decisions, the
2:42
measures that they made to be able
2:43
to cut $205 million.
2:45
So last week when they announced the
2:47
plan and when they gave us more
2:49
information because we knew the plan
2:50
was coming, district officials said
2:52
that it would help.
2:53
Them save $5.2
2:55
million with both high
2:57
school and middle schools, but then
2:59
that was Thursday.
3:00
And then Friday afternoon, they said
3:02
that they had listened to the
3:03
community feedback and that they
3:05
have found extra revenue that came
3:07
or extra money, extra savings,
3:09
let's say, that have come from the
3:10
closure of Paredes Middle School,
3:12
which happened two weeks ago.
3:14
And so with that extra money they
3:16
were putting back
3:18
the neighborhood stops for
3:20
schoolers.
3:21
Just for the middle school, so okay,
3:23
so I'm sure that there's
3:25
there's always a lots of feelings
3:26
around things Regarding AISD
3:29
would have been some of the issues
3:29
that parents have had with this
3:31
plan
3:32
Yeah, so many parents raise concerns
3:34
about not being able to drive their
3:36
kids to the hubs because, you
3:38
know, it's early morning, a lot of
3:39
parents work really early, or maybe
3:40
they can't pick them up because
3:42
they're still working at 3.30, 4.30
3:44
p.m.
3:45
Other parents raise concern about
3:47
students walking or biking along
3:49
high-speed roads
3:51
that had no bike lanes or no
3:53
protective bike lanes.
3:54
They also talked about their
3:56
students having to go under highways
3:58
or through very busy intersections.
4:00
So they were worried.
4:01
One mom told me she was very worried
4:03
about the winter months when
4:05
it was very dark and her
4:07
kid would have to be biking through
4:09
these roads in the dark.
4:11
After the change, parents told me
4:13
that they were relieved to hear that
4:15
their middle schoolers, which of
4:16
course are younger, would be safe.
4:18
But they're still worried about high
4:20
schoolers because they
4:22
would either have to walk through
4:23
streets that are not very walkable.
4:25
Or they would have to get to
4:27
these hubs earlier.
4:29
Like if a parent drops you off and
4:30
then you have to be there earlier
4:31
because your siblings is
4:34
at that elementary school, then
4:35
you'd have to wait 30 minutes.
4:37
But that could also happen at a cap
4:38
metro station. And so they worry
4:40
that they're gonna be there for long
4:41
periods of time without doing
4:43
anything or just maybe getting
4:45
in trouble.
4:46
And they, yeah, they're
4:48
worried about their safety.
4:49
A mom told me she worries about.
4:51
Also high schoolers driving
4:53
and maybe not complying with,
4:54
you know, driving laws.
4:56
Okay, so that's the
4:58
parent's perspective, or at least
5:00
some that you spoke with.
5:01
What does the district have to say
5:02
in response?
5:03
The district has been asking the
5:05
community to come together.
5:06
They're saying that they know this
5:07
is not ideal, but that they hope
5:09
that parents maybe can carpool
5:11
or that students
5:13
can also access CapMetro for
5:15
free. And so maybe they can use
5:16
CapMeto services.
5:18
They have also been taking feedback
5:20
from the community and they have
5:22
said that they're gonna continue
5:24
if possible, adding hubs
5:27
to their systems to make sure that
5:28
students have hubs closer to
5:30
their homes.
5:32
Okay, well, like I said, we are just
5:33
about a week away from the start of
5:35
the school year.
5:36
What are some things that are on
5:38
your mind and some of the things
5:39
you're working on heading into this
5:41
upcoming school year?
5:42
Yeah, so even before the school year
5:44
begins, I think the big elephant
5:46
in the room is a potential TA
5:48
takeover.
5:49
If Doby, Burnet, or Webb middle
5:51
schools, if either one of them
5:53
receives a
5:55
fifth consecutive unacceptable
5:57
rating from the state on the
5:59
accountability ratings that are said
6:01
to be published on Friday,
6:03
if one of either of them gets an F,
6:05
there could be a potential state
6:06
takeover of the whole district.
6:08
So that's the first thing we have in
6:10
mind.
6:10
That's a big thing.
6:11
Um, yeah.
6:11
And then also we're, as school
6:13
starts, we're going to also be
6:14
looking at campuses that are coming
6:16
together because, you know, 10
6:17
campuses closed last
6:19
November. And then we also have
6:21
parades that students were divided
6:23
into Bailey and Mendez.
6:24
So we're gonna see how
6:26
families are coming together and how
6:28
campuses are receiving new students.
6:30
Yeah, some new beginnings for sure.
6:32
That reminds me of the series of
6:33
last that you finished out
6:34
reporting. You can find all of that
6:36
reporting at kut.org
6:38
slash signal.
6:39
That is Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez.
6:42
Thank you for your reporting.
6:43
Thanks for being here.
6:44
Thank you, Jerry.
6:53
There is a bend in the Colorado
6:55
River out by the airports,
6:57
and when you look at it on a map,
6:59
the land on the south side of the
7:00
river kind of looks like the
7:02
silhouette of a dog's head.
7:03
That land is set to be the site of a
7:05
massive mixed-use development that
7:07
will be anchored by Amazon.
7:10
KUT's Luz Moreno Lozano met with
7:12
a few neighborhood residents to hear
7:13
what they think about it all.
7:15
Lee Edwards has lived on Hergotts
7:17
Lane for nearly two decades.
7:19
His property backs up to the
7:21
Colorado River.
7:22
He has direct access to the water.
7:24
It's the reason he moved to the
7:26
area.
7:27
It is right there, the river.
7:29
This is a river neighborhood, a
7:30
river community.
7:32
We're very identified with
7:34
the nature here, the animals,
7:36
the River, the whole thing.
7:37
It's surprisingly rural considering
7:39
how close it is to 183 and airport.
7:42
There's trees and wildflowers,
7:44
bobcats and deer run the land.
7:46
Edwards says it's unlike any
7:48
neighborhood he's lived in before.
7:50
Hey, I've got my apartment, my
7:51
house, and we have neighbors.
7:53
This is nice.
7:54
All that is true, but there's this
7:55
whole other thing going on.
7:57
It's a special and unique
7:59
neighborhood.
7:59
Garrett Tong lives just a few doors
8:01
down from Edwards.
8:02
He's been here for five years.
8:04
It's a quiet lifestyle.
8:06
It's kind of like you're
8:08
in the middle of nowhere, but you're
8:09
an Austin. And just the people, the
8:11
neighbors are amazing.
8:12
The wildlife is amazing.
8:15
It's just a crazy cool place to
8:16
live.
8:17
Edwards is president of the
8:18
Southeast Colorado River
8:19
Neighborhood Association.
8:20
Both he and Tong fear that
8:22
their little slice of paradise will
8:24
be lost without a proper plan to
8:25
develop the dog's head.
8:27
Last month, the Austin City Council
8:29
signed off on a 2,600-acre
8:31
development for the site.
8:32
It includes housing, retail and
8:34
office space, and some green space.
8:37
Amazon's robotics division will be
8:38
the property's biggest tenant.
8:40
But the project was approved with
8:42
very little public input, including
8:43
from neighbors. That's where they
8:45
say the city failed them.
8:47
The way that this has been done
8:49
has been shocking.
8:50
The fact that it's being done, not
8:52
shocking at all.
8:53
Nobody in our entire neighborhood
8:54
association has ever been
8:56
opposed to development or
8:58
this development.
8:59
It's how it's been done that
9:01
is our entire issue.
9:03
Neighbors didn't learn about the
9:04
project until just two days before
9:06
the city council was set to annex
9:07
the site and enter into an agreement
9:09
with the developer.
9:10
And it wasn't because the city told
9:12
them. Edwards found out from a
9:14
friend who'd seen it on the
9:14
council's agenda.
9:16
We heard on a Tuesday, May 19th,
9:18
we had a neighborhood association
9:19
meeting the next day,
9:21
and we went to speak at city council
9:23
the next day.
9:25
So they've had us playing catch up
9:26
the whole time.
9:28
And as Garrett said,
9:30
seems like that was likely
9:31
intentional.
9:32
Last month, the attorney for the
9:33
developers said this project has
9:34
been in the works for several years.
9:36
City officials have not explained
9:38
why residents weren't part of the
9:39
process, but said the quick
9:40
decision-making was about securing a
9:42
deal with Amazon.
9:44
Tung says all the neighbors want is
9:45
to be kept in the loop about what's
9:47
going on.
9:48
It would be nice to
9:50
have some sort of input
9:52
into what goes into the dog's
9:54
head.
9:55
I think that's typically how it
9:56
works.
9:57
He says the neighbors also want a
9:58
clearer understanding about how the
10:00
project is going to affect traffic
10:01
and the river.
10:03
Austin City Councilmember Jose
10:04
Velasquez says he's aware of those
10:06
concerns and says he is working to
10:08
resolve them.
10:09
He voted against the project last
10:10
month.
10:11
I feel we could have done better and
10:13
we were going to be working to
10:14
ensure that when we have
10:16
major developments
10:19
like this that there is a better
10:20
process to how we communicate with
10:22
the community because people again
10:24
should never feel like things are
10:26
happening to them.
10:27
They should feel like they're
10:28
happening with them.
10:29
The Hergotts Lane neighborhood is
10:30
small. Edwards can name most
10:32
of his neighbors.
10:33
He says all he's trying to do is
10:34
protect them and make sure the
10:36
project is developed well.
10:37
I think developing this well
10:39
respects the environment and
10:40
respects the existing neighborhoods.
10:43
I think it means something that
10:45
benefits the community, that
10:47
the community can get utility out
10:48
of, whether that's
10:50
housing or like thought out retail
10:53
or whatever it is, but
10:55
it's not heavy industry
10:57
and data centers and
10:59
all these companies
11:02
and industries that make such bad
11:03
neighbors.
11:04
Work has already started on the
11:06
project, but there are still several
11:07
more decisions ahead.
11:09
Velasquez says neighbors will be
11:11
part of the process moving forward.
11:13
The development is not expected to
11:14
get final approval until next
11:16
year.
11:17
I'm Luz Moreno Lozano in Austin.
11:20
And we've got some headlines for you
11:22
to keep your eyes and ears out for
11:24
today and this week.
11:25
The city of Austin is asking for
11:27
input on whether to change the name
11:29
of Cesar Chavez Street after
11:31
sexual abuse allegations against the
11:32
labor leader came to light earlier
11:34
this year.
11:35
The city is hosting three meetings
11:37
to share the street's history, the
11:39
renaming process, and possible
11:40
impacts on the community and nearby
11:42
businesses.
11:43
The first one is happening tomorrow
11:45
from five to seven in the evening.
11:47
At Austin Public Library's
11:49
essential branch downtown.
11:52
And Austin City Council will vote
11:53
this week on a $6.6 billion
11:55
budget for next fiscal year.
11:58
Council will begin debating the
11:59
proposal and the amendments
12:01
to it on Wednesday.
12:03
And we just heard from KUT City Hall
12:05
reporter Luz Moreno Lozano, she will
12:06
be following that and we'll keep you
12:08
updated with the latest right here
12:10
on KUT News.
12:11
And it's another hot, hot
12:14
week.
12:15
Stay hydrated out there, stay cool.
12:17
Keep an eye out for your neighbors.
12:19
And hey, keep it tuned in right here
12:20
to Austin Signal, we've got more
12:22
after this break.
12:25
Welcome back, this is Austin
12:27
Signal.
12:28
Austin's Waterloo Records is known
12:30
not just for its music selection,
12:32
but also for its in-store
12:33
performances.
12:35
After more than 40 years in
12:36
business, Waterloo recently got a
12:38
new owner and a new location.
12:40
The move was forced as the landowner
12:41
has plans for a different
12:43
development.
12:44
Still, Texas Standard's Porchea
12:46
Goines reports the shop's dedication
12:48
to live shows has persisted.
12:51
On a hot July weekday, people are
12:52
gathered by the Waterloo record
12:53
stage to hear the cast iron shoes
12:55
perform.
12:56
Without further ado, let's give
12:58
a warm Waterloo Records welcome
12:59
to Cast Iron Shoes.
13:06
On the violin is Nicole Richwell.
13:08
She's dressed in a denim jumpsuit
13:10
and cowboy boots.
13:11
She sings and plays multiple
13:13
instruments for the band and says
13:14
this small stage leads to intimate
13:16
performances.
13:17
I think what we do with
13:19
these wooden boxes is really
13:20
special.
13:21
We're making sound waves and if you
13:23
go to a show you can feel it,
13:25
they hit your body and you like
13:27
dance with other people and look
13:28
people in the eye.
13:29
I think I'll be coming
13:35
Ben Hayes is one of about
13:37
30 people in the audience and came
13:39
in especially for this show.
13:41
I saw them about four years ago at
13:43
a Friends of Traditional Music
13:44
performance.
13:46
It was just her and her friend
13:47
Julie, a duo, and I was
13:49
like, man, they've got something
13:51
special.
13:51
And so I've kind of been watching
13:52
them progress.
13:54
And now they're going on tour in
13:55
Europe and I'm like, oh,
13:58
thankfully they're really getting
14:00
noticed. And so yeah,
14:02
I love the energy.
14:03
Another music lover named Malachi
14:05
Michael, who is a long way from
14:06
home, was here for another reason.
14:08
I'm from California,
14:10
we just looked up record stores near
14:11
here and then we went to one and
14:12
then asked the people there for one
14:14
with more emo stuff and they said
14:16
Waterloo because we're on the hunt
14:17
for emo and screamo
14:20
punk stuff, you know, so we're
14:22
kind of just looking around.
14:23
That's exactly what Karen Keller,
14:25
one of Waterloo Records' new owners,
14:28
wants to hear.
14:28
Especially here in our new store
14:30
location, being able to connect with
14:31
the fans, be around
14:33
other people who are learning about
14:35
music or just, you know,
14:37
lonely and want it to pop in, like
14:38
having a space like that and a time
14:40
like this is really special to
14:42
deliver real experiences.
14:44
A long-time customer named John,
14:46
whose last name I didn't get, has
14:47
continued to support Waterloo
14:48
throughout the years.
14:50
I've been coming to Waterloo's
14:51
events for about 10 years,
14:53
or maybe a little more, but just
14:54
once in a while.
14:55
Sometimes I have a friend in the
14:56
music scene who's playing the Friday
14:58
evening, and I try to catch that.
14:59
And sometimes I can't, because it's
15:00
so popular that it would be crowded.
15:02
He got in today, but on this
15:04
hot and sunny day, the store was
15:05
packed.
15:07
Keller says she's been blown away by
15:08
the growth in sales and foot traffic
15:09
from the new store location.
15:11
I think...
15:12
The move, which after
15:14
being at the same location for 36
15:15
years, kind of put Waterloo back
15:17
into conversation.
15:18
In a digital era, Keller says
15:20
it's important to provide a place
15:21
for people to connect over music.
15:24
Fans that come in especially where
15:26
it resonates with them,
15:28
they clearly want to connect with
15:30
their fans and stick around and sign
15:31
every record.
15:32
It reminds me like why spaces like
15:34
this are so important,
15:36
why it's so important to have
15:37
physical places for people to
15:39
gather, to
15:41
commune over music, to meet the
15:43
artists, and especially
15:45
with the swell of AI,
15:47
like it is this human connection
15:48
that matters so deeply and that
15:50
performance was really special.
15:51
In cast honor, she's performing
15:52
Nicole Ritual.
15:53
Cannes will remember the first time
15:54
she discovered Waterloo, but is
15:56
thankful for the opportunity to
15:57
perform with her band.
15:58
I've been coming to shows at
16:00
Waterloo and buying
16:02
records here since
16:04
I moved to Austin.
16:05
It didn't even occur to me to
16:07
book a show for my band here, like
16:09
my friends all had to be like,
16:11
Nicole, you should put a Cast Orange
16:13
Shoes show at Waterlou, you have all
16:14
these finals now.
16:16
And I'm really glad that I did,
16:18
it's a huge honor to play here.
16:20
She's ecstatic that people came to
16:22
the release show to buy a record.
16:24
What we do is really
16:26
handcrafted, it takes
16:28
a long time.
16:30
Everything that we record is on tape
16:32
and live tracked in
16:33
one room with all the musicians.
16:37
And it just, it's a labor
16:39
of love.
16:40
A store like Waterloo Records
16:42
doesn't stay open for 44 years
16:44
without the huge support of the
16:45
community.
16:47
Over generations to now three
16:48
different locations, they've been
16:49
gathering for a beer and free
16:51
performances.
16:52
That's also a labor of love.
16:54
In Austin, I'm Prasha Goins.
17:04
Gaze skyward this week and you may
17:06
catch a glimpse of one of the year's
17:08
best cosmic shows,
17:10
the Perseid meteor shower peaks this
17:12
week, and conditions will be just
17:13
right to see lots of them in the
17:15
night sky, if you know when
17:17
and where to watch.
17:18
Luckily we have some help here to
17:19
share some tips on how to enjoy
17:21
that shower is Chelsea Zhu.
17:23
She is KUT's engagement reporter.
17:24
Welcome back to the show, Chelsea.
17:26
Thanks for having me.
17:27
So, I hear about a lot of meteor
17:29
showers as the year goes on, so tell
17:31
us what exactly is the Perseid
17:32
meteor shower, like what causes it?
17:35
Yeah, so what causes meteor
17:37
showers in general, and this one in
17:38
particular, is Earth traveling
17:40
through this cloud of space debris
17:42
that's left by a comet.
17:44
In this case, it's the comet
17:45
Swiftuttle.
17:46
When that comet is traveling through
17:48
space, it leaves dust and particles
17:50
behind. And when we, Earth,
17:52
hit that dust, it burns up in our
17:54
atmosphere and causes streaks of
17:56
light, aka meteors.
17:57
And I actually learned that some of
17:59
these meteors are as small as a
18:00
grain of sand.
18:01
Wow, really, they look so ginormous
18:03
up there. Well, how often does the
18:05
Perseid meteor shower happen?
18:06
So it's an annual meteor shower, so
18:08
it happens every year in this July
18:10
to August period.
18:12
Okay, well, it's in a
18:14
particular peaking right now this
18:15
week.
18:16
When is the actual best time to
18:18
catch one of these meteors?
18:19
Yeah, so you can already see the
18:21
meteors now, but the absolute
18:23
best time will be overnight,
18:25
Wednesday into Thursday, in that
18:26
kind of midnight to pre-dawn period.
18:29
And you can also catch it in the
18:30
days after, but that specific night
18:32
is the greatest chance for seeing
18:33
the largest number.
18:35
Okay, so should you just walk
18:36
outside of your house and just like
18:38
pop your neck up?
18:39
Is this particular area that you
18:40
should be looking south, looking
18:42
north, how does this normally work?
18:44
Yeah, so the
18:46
Perseids are actually named after
18:47
the constellation Perseus because
18:49
it will appear, if you're looking at
18:51
the sky, like the meteors are coming
18:53
from that constellation and
18:55
there are websites and apps you can
18:56
use to find where that constellation
18:58
is, but you don't have to actually
18:59
be looking straight at the
19:01
constellation the entire time.
19:02
The meteors will kind of emerge
19:04
across the sky.
19:06
Okay, well I gotta guess that
19:07
obviously like the darker the sky
19:09
the better view or the better chance
19:10
you might have of catching one of
19:11
these meteors So where are some good
19:13
locations around us to to
19:15
catch the show?
19:16
Yeah, so the best advice that
19:18
I got for people in Austin is
19:20
to just get out of Austin,
19:22
or at least out of the super urban
19:24
part of the city.
19:25
Was this related to the meteor
19:26
shower or was it just in general?
19:27
Get out of Austin.
19:28
The meteor shower, but I guess
19:30
that's a matter of opinion.
19:33
And the reason for that is just, you
19:34
know, light pollution having an
19:35
impact.
19:36
So I talked to the Austin
19:38
Astronomical Society for
19:39
the story, and they recommended
19:41
going to parks and towns that have
19:43
been certified by Dark Sky
19:44
International for protecting against
19:46
light pollution.
19:47
So near us, that's places like
19:49
Liberty Hill, Bee Cave, Dripping
19:50
Springs, Wimberly.
19:52
Mm-hmm, I mean, Ryan, all those
19:53
places were very popular to
19:55
catch the solar eclipse that
19:57
happened a few years ago, so that
19:58
makes sense that they would be
19:59
popular for this meteor shower.
20:02
Okay, well, you've kind of prepped
20:03
us on—you've given us a lot
20:05
of good tips. What are some other
20:06
tips that you've learned over the
20:08
course of your reporting?
20:09
I learned that you actually don't
20:10
need any kind of special equipment
20:12
to see meteor showers, so
20:14
no telescopes or binoculars, you can
20:16
just use your eyes, and that you
20:17
want to give your eyes around half
20:19
an hour to kind of adjust to the
20:21
darkness so you can see the meteors
20:23
and the fainter ones.
20:24
And you also want to avoid looking
20:26
at like white light on your
20:28
phone or, you know, getting in your
20:30
car and getting hit with that light
20:32
because that kind of resets that
20:33
30-minute timer.
20:35
And then if you have to use light,
20:36
to use red light because it's a bit
20:38
better on your night vision.
20:39
And also just to get comfortable
20:41
because, you know, if you're waiting
20:42
for the absolute peak, you're
20:44
probably gonna be out there for a
20:45
while. So, you now, bug spray,
20:47
water, snacks, a lawn chair,
20:49
all that jazz.
20:49
Yes, yes, I have spent one
20:51
night watching a
20:53
meteor shower and the best
20:55
investment I had that night was my
20:56
pillow because, yeah, I spent a lot
20:58
of time crooking my neck trying to
21:00
see really quickly if there might be
21:02
a good look here or look there.
21:05
So we have a really good chance this
21:06
week to catch the Perseid
21:08
meteor shower. What are some other
21:10
astronomical events that are coming
21:11
up this year?
21:12
There is going to be a partial
21:15
lunar eclipse on August 27th,
21:17
and that will be visible in Austin.
21:18
People will be able to see it that
21:20
night. And that's also a case where
21:21
you don't need eclipse glasses or
21:23
special equipment to see.
21:25
The fall is also a
21:26
good time to see the planet Saturn.
21:28
It's gonna be at opposition on
21:30
October 4th.
21:31
And that means that it will appear
21:33
opposite the sun from Earth and
21:35
it will look just particularly big
21:37
and bright.
21:38
And there are also more meteor
21:39
showers happening this year.
21:40
That includes the Leonids in
21:42
mid-November, the Geminids in
21:44
mid-December, so this is
21:45
not your last chance at all to see
21:47
meteors.
21:47
Okay, but maybe it's your first
21:49
chance to start practicing good
21:50
habits and good meteor watching
21:52
skills like, you know, the
21:54
red light is a really important one.
21:56
I cannot stress that one enough,
21:57
really, really helpful.
21:59
And also helpful is Chelsea Zhu.
22:01
She is engagement reporter here at
22:03
KUT News, and we're going to have
22:04
more about how you can best catch
22:06
the meteor shower in today's show
22:08
notes. Chelsea, thanks for coming by
22:09
the show. Thank you.
22:11
And thank you out there for
22:13
making Austin Signal part of
22:15
your Monday. Don't forget, we're
22:16
gonna have a lot more about the
22:17
stories we shared with you in
22:19
today's podcast, Show Notes.
22:21
And you can always find more from
22:22
the work we are doing at
22:24
kut.org
22:26
slash signal.
22:28
I'm your host, Jerry Kikano.
22:30
The Austin Signal team is Rene
22:32
Chavez. He is our technical
22:33
director, Alexandra Hart.
22:35
She is our producer.
22:36
And Kristen Cabrera, she is
22:38
our managing producer.
22:39
We have a lot more to bring you this
22:41
week, and we're gonna be back at the
22:43
same time every weekday right here
22:45
on KUT News.
22:47
Have a good one out there.