Observatory Is Host to Those Hoping to Catch a Falling Star : Moorpark College: The facility prepares for a late-night meteor shower that may flare into a dazzling light show.

Even though it’s a weeknight, Hal Jandorf expects a couple of hundred people to turn out at the Moorpark College observatory tonight to watch a meteor shower expected to light up the sky as it does only once every 120 years.

The part-time astronomy instructor said he cannot understand why anyone would not stay up past midnight anticipating that the annual Perseid meteor shower will this year become a storm of hundreds--possibly thousands--of “shooting stars” streaking across the sky.

“This is nature’s spectacular display,” Jandorf said. “It’s one of the most incredible things you can see. And it’s free.”

Actually, it will cost $1 to stretch out on the observatory’s lawn from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., with the proceeds supporting the facility’s operations.

While the college observatory is among the county’s better vantage points, the best viewing will be done in dark regions away from street lights, Jandorf said, especially the mountains, desert or even the beach if fog does not obscure vision.

And it is more fun to share the experience, he added.

“Shower with a friend,” Jandorf said with a smile.

The Perseids can be viewed each August, when the Earth’s orbit takes it through the spot where Comet Swift-Tuttle has left a wake of burning particles, Jandorf said.

What makes this year special is that the comet passed especially close to the Earth, Jandorf said. Normally, the Perseid meteor shower produces 60 to 70 meteors an hour. In a storm, however, the number can run into the hundreds or thousands.

The shower was likely to reach its peak Wednesday night, so Jandorf and other members of the Ventura County Astronomical Society headed into the mountains to flee “light pollution” and enjoy the best views, he said.

But experts say tonight’s display should also be spectacular.

“It looks like any shooting star, only it’s exciting because you see so many of them so quickly,” said Dian Walden, president of the astronomical society.

Walden, who joined the group four years ago, said she got hooked on the event while being dazzled by one particularly bright and long-lasting meteor in a past Perseid shower.

“It was so incredibly bright that I actually thought it was going to drop in my lap,” she said. “And they’re normally white, but this one was yellow. You could almost feel the fire coming off of it.”

The program at the observatory will include information about photographing meteor showers and instruction on constellations, Jandorf said. The real fun begins when the crowd starts ooohhing and aaahhing together, he said.

“What I really like as a teacher is seeing other people’s reactions when they see something for the first time.”

The last storm occurred in 1966, when the annual Leonid shower put on a spectacular show with 10,000 meteors a minute at its peak, Jandorf said. Not feeling up to driving out of West Los Angeles, Jandorf said he skipped that display.

“I missed the most incredible meteor shower of our lifetime,” Jandorf said.

It is hard to predict whether the Perseids will be special this year, Jandorf said.

“The best part is that if it’s good, it’s going to be unbelievable,” he said. “But if it’s a bad one, it’s still darn good.”

Plenty of parking is available at the observatory, which is located on the Moorpark College campus off Collins Drive. A lawn chair is recommended for comfort, Jandorf said.