Where to go around NYC to see the meteor shower on August 12?

June 25, 2007 8:57 AM

Where to go around NYC to see the meteor shower on August 12?

On Sunday, August 12, the Perseid meteor shower will coincide with a new moon, so the sight should be spectacular. Unfortunately, I live in brightly lit NYC without a car.

So to which dark city should I go on public transportation to see the meteor shower? I'm thinking upstate by Metro North or Long Island by LIRR.

Some preferences :

1. I would like to be able to spend the night indoors (not camping), so there should be some sort of lodging where I end up.
2. I would like to be able to take the train back to the office for work on Monday morning at 9am.

Thank you for your help!

posted by beautiful to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (4 answers total)

How about all the way north on the Hudson line to Poughkeepsie? The train ride is a bit long (2 and a half hours ish from Grand Central) but it's pretty scenic (along the river the whole way). Once you get to Poughkeepsie, you can cross over to the west side of the river and it's very quiet--crickets chirping, the whole thing. Lodging ranges from spas, to bed&breakfast, to shady looking places with big truck signs and advertisements of mirrors on the ceilings (not that I would know, mind). The train back to the city is easy.

Difficult detail: Getting from the train station to the other side, it's not far but the bridge is annoying.
posted by anaelith at 9:27 AM on June 25, 2007

I'd suggest Montauk via LIRR. Recent ordinances on Eastern Long Island require than new outdoor lighting be "full cutoff" fixtures, which send light only down, not up or out to the sides. (But the old lights are still shining, so you'll still have to find a specific place with no lights once you get out there).

If camping wasn't off the table, Fahnestock State Park in Putnam county would work well.

Closer to home, some of the Hudson River waterfront parks might work out ok, because you have a chance of getting trees or dark buildings between you and the bright lights. This is obviously not optimal, but it will help. You'll want to scout locations ahead of time to be sure they are accessible/safe after dark, and that there are no bright lights shining directly in your face.
posted by mikepop at 1:24 PM on June 26, 2007

If you want closer rather than further, there's a whole host of towns on the NJ Transit (anything 10 minutes past Newark, really) that could provide a great, non-city-light impeded view literally from the train station platform itself (I'm familiar with Florham Park and Murray Hill (my company has offices in both). Unfortunately I'm not familiar with any hotels close to said train stations, but I'm sure with a little finger work, you could definitely find something. But if the schedule of the line you're on works out right, you could just hop on a train back to Penn Station late at night when you've had your eye-full...
posted by allkindsoftime at 5:10 PM on June 26, 2007

Response by poster: Thank you all for your responses. It seems as though there is no obvious answer, and I should do more research.
posted by beautiful at 9:30 AM on June 28, 2007