KWSO News for Mon., May 30, 2022

If the skies are clear tonight you may want to go outside when it’s dark and look for a flurry of shooting stars. Troy Carpenter is the administrator of Goldendale Observatory State Park (in south-central Washington). He says tonight the earth will pass through the debris field of a shattered comet. At this point, no one can say for sure if the resulting “tau Herculid” shower will be spectacular or a dud.   “We might not see a single meteor during the tau Herculids or maybe we’ll see an outburst. The last famous meteor storm that happened with an unusual outburst was the Leonids way back in 2002. So it would be interesting to see another meteor outburst — like this one. We’re hoping. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.” The observatory manager says it depends on how much the comet remnants have disintegrated whether we get a memorable meteor storm or nothing much.  In any case, he recommends to scan high in the sky around 10 p-m tonight.

The Northwest Digital Heritage, is a collaboration between the Oregon Heritage Commission, State Library of Oregon, and Washington State Library.  It is a regional effort to help support and increase access to digital collections from libraries and cultural heritage institutions throughout Oregon and Washington. Since its official launch in late May 2021 – and despite a myriad of challenges during the pandemic – the project has met some significant milestones during its initial year, including: Over 190,000 digital item records from Oregon and Washington-based collections now available via the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)’s Northwest Digital Heritage (NWDH) hub and Collections from 115 different libraries, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage organizations represented.  You can search Warm Springs Reservation at northwestdigitalheritage.org.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month.  There are many ways to support people who may be struggling with mental health, including peer support.  Right now there are many stressors  from the pandemic to the economy.  There’s a high prevalence of mental illness in Oregon compared with other states. Organizations are figuring out different ways to reach people who may be struggling. At the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon, people with lived experiences provide peer-support services. Adrienne Scavera with the organization says having peers provide help is a unique way to connect with people.  “The fact that folks can openly share about their previous life experience can really be meaningful when it comes to reducing stigma.”  Scavera says peer-support services have become more recognized and valued over her time working with the association. An annual study from Mental Health America ranked Oregon in the bottom five this year for factors such as mental-health prevalence and access to care.    Scavera also reminds us that everyone is dealing with mental-health issues to some degree and It is important to not be judgmental and to keep an open mind.  She encourages all to listen nd learn from others about their experiences.

KWSO weather for Central Oregon – Sunny today with a slight chance of shower activity this afternoon into this evening.   Today’s high around 64.  Sunny and 76 tomorrow.    Just a reminder if skies are clear you might be able to check out a meteor shower tonight around 10.