Shooting Stars, Other Galactic Fun Above N. Oregon Coast

Published 09/17/2012

By Andre' Hagestedt

(Manzanita, Oregon) – This weekend has proven to be filled with a variety of surprises in nature along the Oregon coast, including a few at night. (Above: the shooting star closeup)

A small photo expedition on the beach at Manzanita Saturday night yielded an unexpected bit of astronomical wonder in the skies. As my camera was trying to capture some rather breathtaking images of the Big Dipper hovering above Neahkahnie Mountain, a test shot for exposure caught something not seen with the naked eye. Or at least I didn't see it. I saw a few shooting stars in this quite dark surroundings, but only upon inspection of these images in my laptop later that night did I notice what looked most distinctly like a shooting star - this time caught by the camera.

Now, I've encountered this situation before. I've captured things streaking through the night skies, and they turned out to be either aircraft or a satellite overhead. That can be quite the letdown after that first burst of excitement upon spotting a nice streak across your picture. So I approached this with lots of reticence, and I did the right thing as a journalist: I contacted an expert. (Above: the shooting star is in the upper left corner)

Sending the photo off to Jim Todd at OMSI in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, I didn't expect an answer until Monday. He was kind enough to not only respond over the weekend, but gave me reason to go bonkers with a feeling of success.

“It does look like you have a shooting star or meteor from the September Perseid,” Todd said in an email Sunday.

There is a small meteor shower from the Perseids in September (those you see in great abundance in August), but it's usually in the northeast. This came from the northwest, darting out just underneath the handle of the Big Dipper.

Still other fantastic sights were available this night on the coast. Upon hitting the beach it was impossible to not be struck by the thick carpet of stars overhead, as well as the Milky Way. You can see more pictures of that over Manzanita, and of the beach at night, below.

I've talked for years about seeing more shooting stars from this beach or from the overlooks at Neahkahnie. I have no scientific basis for this other than my own anecdotal experience. But what a set of experiences it has been. And this incident only adds a little more fuel to my argument.

Happy star hunting on the Oregon coast.

- Andre' Hagestedt

Look below for lodging in Manzanita, Rockaway Beach and Nehalem Bay.

The Milky Way above the overlooks - above Manzanita.

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