Massachusetts Prepares for Three Major Celestial Events in August
Massachusetts is set to experience three significant celestial events this August, providing a spectacle for sky watchers. The first event is a partial solar eclipse on August 12, where the moon will cover a portion of the sun. Although only a sixth of the sun will be obscured, the event is still expected to captivate viewers. Kelly Beatty from Sky & Telescope advises using specialty eclipse glasses for safe viewing, or alternatively, using binoculars to project the eclipse onto a piece of paper. The second event is the Perseids meteor shower, peaking on the nights of August 12-13. This annual meteor shower, originating from the debris of the Swift-Tuttle comet, will be visible with potentially up to 100 meteors per hour in dark areas. Finally, a near-full lunar eclipse will occur on the night of August 27-28, with 96% of the moon covered by Earth's shadow, offering a chance to see the moon with a coppery hue. 
