The mid-summer full moon, the Grain Moon, and the first full moon of August, briefly appears through the clouds as it rises over Alexis Creek on Aug. 1. August will see its second full moon on the night of the 30th. The clear, smokeless Chilcotin air and a telescopic lens reveal the moon Galileo discovered in 1609; not a divine celestial light, but a battered, chaotically patterned space rock.
When the moon has waned to a late-rising crescent moon on the night of Aug. 11, the annual Perseid Meteors will be flaming across our night sky as they encounter our atmosphere. Ever more Perseids will be entering our atmosphere as the dawn of the following day approaches. However, the enjoyment of this natural, night sky light show will require viewers be under dark and clear skies; both stars and shooting stars are much diminished by artificial light.