Week of Aug. 1, 2024

From the editor’s desk:

As national election news unfolds at a dizzying pace, I, for one, am planning a quick reprieve in about a week and a half to do something that always replenishes my sanity, with minimal effort.

Have you ever taken a look at NASA’s satellite map of the U.S. at night? The eastern half of the continental U.S. is mostly lit up at night—a wonderful thing when you want to enjoy some New York City nightlife, but it makes quality stargazing just about impossible. Here in the West, we have dark skies aplenty, and some of the very darkest are within striking distance of Reno.

That means that when the annual Perseid meteor shower comes around, we have the privilege of being able to take our pick of amazing vantage points—uncongested places where we can watch dozens or hundreds of meteors streak through the sky on a balmy summer night. 

This year’s Perseids show started in July. The concentration of “shooting stars” is expected to increase between Aug. 9-13. The shower peaks on Monday, Aug. 12 and lasts through Aug. 24.

The moon will be half-full on the peak night, Aug. 12, but it sets at midnight, and intrepid night owls should be able to catch the show in full swing until dawn. Here’s hoping the Park Fire smoke dissipates by then.

My favorite spot from which to view the Perseids is the playa in the Black Rock Desert, about a two-hour drive north of Reno. From that flat expanse, when you lie on the ground and look up, it honestly looks like you’re inside a dark dome, perforated with tiny star lights. (Rest assured: The Burning Man setup crews, who are already there, don’t really impede the view. You can set up a spot miles away from their work lights.)

My second choice, for when I don’t have time for the two-hour drive, is Pyramid Lake, 45 minutes north of Reno and sufficiently dark for stargazing. You’re allowed to camp there, as long as you buy a permit from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

If you’re anything like me, getting a glimpse of such a dazzling celestial show helps put everything else in perspective. I get a giant kick out of staring at the cosmos and thinking about how small I am in comparison. The perspective shift makes dealing with pretty much everything—even the dizzying pace of election news cycles—a little bit easier.

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor