Last November, the ‘steez invited all of you star-lovin’ astronomy nerds to take to the streets and look upwards to witness one of the most-epic meteor showers of all time; The Leonid Meteor Shower. Those of you that went witnessed some of the shiniest, brightest, most-spectacular meteors streaking across the night skies. It was like a laser-light show of awesome, (Minus the Pink Floyd, sorry all you Miami Planetarium acid-trippers!) brought to you by Mama Nature!

Well, today, er, tonight, must be your lucky day, um, night, because if you check out the skies at dusk you will see another phenomenon! Well, actually, TWO phenomenons. Phenomena? Phenominations? Phenomenonmenonomnomnoms?

Whatever…you will see two occurrences of FUCK YES!

First, you will be WOW’ed by the planets as they configure around the moon to make…wait for it…A SMILEY FACE IN THE SKY! That’s right! At twilight, (Not the movie of gay vampires!) three planets — Mars, Venus and Saturn — will gather in the west near a lopsided crescent moon like the discombobulated components of a celestial smiley face. Venus, the brightest, will shimmer blue-white. Ringed Saturn will be burnished pale gold. Mars, the dimmest, will glower in its traditional red. The ivory waxing moon, followed by the planets, soon will drop below the horizon, setting a darkened stage for the firmament’s second act.

Ooh! Aah!

And then, the real show begins.

At around 11 p.m., the Perseid shower will begin to emit brilliant sparklers from its namesake constellation Perseus in the northeast sky. Unlike years past, the meteors will arrive early enough for most folks to see.

The meteors are icy dust fragments shed by the comet Swift-Tuttle as it passes near the sun. The tiny particles, speeding at a dizzying 38 miles per second, sizzle in the earth’s atmosphere, some leaving trails that can last for seconds. As the Perseus Constellation rises higher in the sky, the volume of meteors will increase.

So, get your beach chairs out and head to a place where there are few city lights. We suggest driving west down Calle Ocho into the Everglades and pulling over where it’s dark. You can also check it out on the beach or from a rooftop. This is an opportunity to do something romantic with your honey or to just get shitfaced with your buddies while the sky is falling! Your call. Just remember, this happens only once in a while, so don’t miss it.

-goobs