Fog disappoints stargazers hoping to see meteor shower

Fireworks are often made with gunpowder and fire. Sometimes, though, they appear in the sky through natural means. Usually, that is called a meteor shower, and that is exactly what a handful of ECU students gathered to see Monday night ¬¬and well into Tuesday morning at the North Campus Intramural Fields. Stargazers came to see a yearly celestial event visible all over the world, the most eager of which was the event's coordinator, Brandon Hill.

"I just thought people could take a look at the Leonid Meteor Shower that's going on this evening," said Hill.

Hill, a sophomore and geographical organization systems major, has been looking up to the heavens for more than half his life as a hobby and pastime.

"I've always loved astronomy," said Hill.

Meteor enthusiasts began to gather around the grounds near the North Campus Crossing apartment complex a little past 10:30 p.m. before the shower was visible from where they were standing. The crowd, and their expectations, would continue to grow throughout the evening.

"I'm a dork, and I wanted to see the stars," said Katie Thalhamer, a student at ECU and ROTC Cadet. Thalhamer mentioned that she had to be up in the wee hours anyway, and that she might as well stick around and stay up to watch the shower before ROTC PT.

Spectators, though, started to grow anxious as the evening wore on. By 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the people present had seen precious few meteors -- despite the fact that the parking lot lights had been shut off completely, making the grounds pitch black, and watched as the sky became obscured by dense fog.

One particularly unimpressed spectator was Abby Herrit, who was accompanied by her friends Meg Sumner and Allyssa Richardson.

"We came here to see the meteor shower, but so far it's been kind of weak," said Herrit.

As 1 a.m. rolled around, people began to flock to the North Campus grounds in droves, though only ambiguous silhouettes of bodies, lawn chairs and pickup trucks could be seen from the field. Occasionally, shrieks of shock and delight could be heard as a clouded meteor glided through the air. Unfortunately for those present expecting a heavenly special of lights, low laying clouds hid much of the shower on an otherwise clear night.

"There was just so much fog," said Hill.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.