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I was watching from about 4:30 to 5:10. Most of the meteors I saw originated in the vicinity of Cassiopeia. They were also fairly short and brief; by the time I looked at them there was only a faint glowing trail that faded within a second. But I saw at least two that were far longer and maybe brighter that followed a different trajectory, one streaked toward Cassiopeia. Perhaps these were random events not related to the Perseids? Staring at the sky at night is a reliable way to see something incomprehensible and wondrous. Can these flashes of light really be the result of metal flecks the size of sand grains? Why are they usually nickel and iron? Are they really roughly parallel, like Crepuscular rays, despite apparently diverging?