The Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight!

The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of those annual events that normally doesn’t disappoint astronomers - professional and casual.  All you need is a clear sky and a dark night.  We should have mostly clear skies, but the moon will be out until 2:28 am when it sets.  Still, if you’re out late you may be able to catch a glimpse of a few meteors - especially if you can get away from as much light pollution as possible.  After the moon sets tomorrow morning we should have about 4 hours of good, dark night to see more of them.  So, instead of staying up late, you may want to get up earlier than you normally do to have a better chance of seeing more.  Sunrise tomorrow is at 6:48, so it’s got to be before 6 AM!

Overnight you’ll want to look towards the darkest part of the sky.  If you’re out early tomorrow morning, look to the East.  You could see 1 meteor per minute possible.

What are the Perseid Meteors?  They are pieces of dust that come from the comet tail of Swift-Tuttle.  They race into the earth’s atmosphere at 132,000 miles per hour, and as they burn up in the atmosphere they create the beautiful streak of light that we can see.

So don’t be surprised to see some streaks of light in the sky late tonight and early tomorrow morning - it’s just a greeting from outer space!