On Saturday, August 10th, 2013, Mojave Desert Land Trust will host one of our brightest events of the season - The Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party at the Integratron in Landers, California. Join us as we celebrate what many consider to be the best meteor shower of the year! The Integratron is an icon to the Space Age and a perfect setting for this annual event, which includes:

• Live images from deep space projected by The Southern California Desert Video Astronomers
  
• Night sky program
  
• Live ambient music performed by Clive Wright
  
• Sound Baths in the Integratron’s acoustically perfect sound chamber
  
• Delectable desserts
  
• Coffee bar and lounge
  
• Optional camping available
  

This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy star and meteor gazing with friends AND support Mojave Desert Land Trust’s efforts to preserve desert wilderness and beautiful night skies.

Tickets are $40 per person for current MDLT members, and $60 for non-members (includes an MDLT membership). Kids 12 and under are FREE! Overnight camping is an additional $30 per person and includes a continental breakfast. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

THIS EVENT SELLS OUT QUICKLY, so reserve your spots early by purchasing tickets here or calling 760-366-5440. A portion of your ticket price is tax-deductible as a donation to MDLT. Tickets are non-refundable and issued at will call. Please bring your receipt to the event.

Buy Tickets for Aug. 10, 2013 Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party

Member Ticket $40.00 USD Member Ticket with Camping $70.00 USD Non-Member Ticket $60.00 USD Non-member Ticket with Camping $85.00 USD

Please remember to bring comfortable chairs for star-gazing, blankets, travel mug for the coffee bar, water bottle, and camping gear if staying overnight. Directions at www.integratron.com.

Click here to view a photo album from last year’s event or visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/mojavedesertlandtrust.

About the Perseid meteor shower:
The Perseid is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display and, due to its summertime appearance, tends to provide the majority of meteors seen by non-astronomy enthusiasts. There are other, weaker meteor showers going on around the same time as the Perseids, but the Perseids will generally appear to move much faster across the sky than meteors from the other showers. In fact, the Perseids are among the fastest moving meteors we see every year. Another way to know if the meteor you saw was a Perseid is to mentally trace the meteor backwards. If you end up at Perseus then you have probably seen a Perseid meteor!

What is a meteor shower?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower. Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.

How did “Perseid” get its name?
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.

Photos from Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party 2012: