The maximum of the Perseid meteor shower turned out to be pretty minimal for local stargazers. Thanks to partly cloudy, smoky skies, meteor viewing was a washout on Monday, the highly anticipated night of peak activity. The viewing party we previewed in the Columbia River Gorge at Rooster Rock State Park was canceled by the host, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Get a look at sunspots using sun-filtered telescopes at the Heritage Farm in Hazel DellSubscriber Exclusive
Multiple sun-filtered telescopes will be on hand Saturday so children and their parents can safely see solar phenomenon
![The sun’s magnetic polarity appears to reverse at a super-fast speed — every 11 years. The cycle produces sunspots, solar flares and huge coronal mass ejections.](https://www.columbian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/solar-solar-SOLAR_6458893-1226x0-c-center.jpg)