Welcoming A Brand New Year

Leonids meteor shower Nov. 2002 NASA (photo: Sam Cook)

Last night I decided to sleep downstairs in the living room, hoping that would make it easier for me to bundle up and go outside to see the first meteor shower of 2012... but, even though I did wake up twice (the first time at 3:30 and the second time at around 5 am) and although I did get up and peek through the windows before slipping back underneath my warm blankets (it got down to, oh, 14 or 15 degrees, I suppose) I did not stay up long enough to see any of nature's fireworks.

I wish I had gone outside, though - even if only for a few minutes - so this morning (feeling a bit guilty) I checked online (at the EarthSky web site) and found out when we can expect to see more meteorites during the coming year: 

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide

Children's book illustration ~ playing among the stars

May the days exceed your best expectations and your nights be full of shooting stars... HAPPY NEW YEAR