My family is looking forward to trying to watch the Perseid meteor shower tonight. The kids get to stay up late if they behave, and we hope for clear skies. We’ve had hazy ones lately, but we can still hope!

That’s one nice thing about moving to a slightly higher altitude and smaller town. The night sky is a bit darker here. Poway was pretty good, but still closer to the city and a bit better lit at night.

We’ll head out into the back yard probably around 9 or 10, and just check out the show.

Astronomy, even if you aren’t too strong on the constellations yourself, is a great way to talk to kids about clean air. Clouds may get in the way, but light pollution and other kinds of air pollution do some damage to our ability to view the stars too.

And I don’t think there are many kids who don’t enjoy a bit of star gazing.