Meteor shower
Watch the Perseid meteor shower at a special skywatching session on Sunday, Aug. 12 at Jordan Lake, hosted by UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.
Planetarium educators will be at Jordan Lake’s Ebenezer Church Recreation Area (off U.S. 64) from 9 to 11 p.m. for this free public event. Participants can view Jupiter and some of its moons through telescopes and watch meteors streaming across the sky.
Bring family and friends, lawn chairs or blankets and a cooler of snacks and sodas for a fun evening of skywatching.
Please note that the skywatching session may be cancelled if weather conditions do not permit clear viewing. Please call the planetarium at 962-1236 or check www.moreheadplanetarium.org to confirm the session.
The Perseid meteor shower appears annually in August and spans several days. Its meteors are known as the Perseids because the meteors appear from the same part of the sky as the constellation Perseus. Although the meteor shower varies in intensity from year to year, viewers can sometimes see as many as 60 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak. The meteors are actually bits of space debris left in the wake of the comet Swift-Tuttle, and this debris burns in Earth’s atmosphere as our planet orbits through the comet’s trail each year.
Student named to board
Chapel Hill High School student Amber Bivins has been selected to serve as secretary of the National Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Youth Advisory Board.
Bivins accompanied a nine-member team that traveled to Farmville, Va. to discuss school violence issues and develop action plans for SAVE chapters across the country.
The youth advisory board created a proactive action plan to combat violence through the implementation of the three essential elements of SAVE: crime prevention, conflict management and service projects.
As a member of the board, Bivins will help plan and organize the 12th annual National SAVE Youth Summit and National SAVE Day, which will take place on October 24 during America’s Safe Schools Week.
SAVE is a student-run organization whose mission is to promote safe schools and communities by educating students about the effects and consequences of violence and to engage students in safe activities that benefit themselves and their communities.
Family Fun Day
The Town of Chapel Hill will sponsor Family Fun Day on Saturday at Hargraves Park on North Roberson Street.
The event will run from 2 to 9 p.m. and will feature children’s entertainment, food and games. In addition, rhythm and blues band Sweet Dreams will perform at 6 p.m.
Animals, alcohol and glass containers are prohibited. Participants should bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics. For more information, call 968-2784.
Rogers Road back-to-school
Another reminder that the Faith Tabernacle Oasis of Love Church will be holding its annual Back to School Bash on Saturday, August 11 to provide children with supplies as they return to school for a new year. Your donations are encouraged.
Rev. Robert Campbell writes on OrangePolitics.org that items that are particularly appreciated include gift cards from local stores, book bags, backpacks, notebooks, paper, pencils, “any gifts that will make this day a day of support for families with school age children.â€
Donations can be dropped off at the church at 8005 Rogers Road.