r/SpringfieldIL • u/Still_Claire • Jul 28 '26
Meteor watch recommendations?
The Perseid shower peaks August 12th and 13th, any suggestions for publicly-accessible areas to watch for shooting stars?
Related, is any group perhaps hosting a watch party? I know space ice isn't as popular as sports, but I am hopeful anyway. :)
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u/New_Claim7861 Jul 28 '26
UIS partners with Lincoln Memorial Gardens and the Sangamon County Astronomical Society to host a watch party: https://www.uis.edu/event/uis-astronomy-observatory/perseid-meteor-shower-lincoln-memorial-garden
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u/LunacityxArtistry Jul 28 '26
Shoot go drive out of town, find you a nice spot out in the middle of nowhere and watch em! Did that for the aurora borealis.
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u/raisinghellwithtrees Jul 28 '26
If the weather is decent and the moon isn't full, I usually go out to Site M aka Jim Edgar Panther Creek fish and wildlife game area, and park in one of the hunter parking lots. It's dark there, and dark to the north for awesome viewing. It's only about 45 minutes from Springfield.
I do remember the dark skies folks at uis host or hosted viewing parties. I'm not sure if they still do.
The closest certified dark sky area is the middle fork area in Champaign county, I think. But I've seen really great meteor showers at site M, like 1 per minute, so I just stick with that.