August Night Sky

As our planet crosses the orbital path of the comet Swift-Tuttle the Perseid meteor shower will be active from July 17 to August 24.  As the earth passes thru the trail of comet dust and debris the result is a show of meteors August 11th thru 13th - with the best viewing in the predawn hours of August 12th.  Over this period, there will be a chance of seeing Perseid meteors whenever the shower's radiant point – in the constellation Perseus – is above the horizon, with the number of visible meteors increasing the higher the radiant point is in the sky.

This happens to be a prolific meteor shower producing 60 to 200 shooting stars per hour.  Unfortunately the full moon may spoil the big show which means that the glow from the moon may wash-out many of the meteors rendering them difficult to see.  Nevertheless, I'm going to watch the night sky during the shower's peak.  

At my latitude here - equidistant from the equator and the pole - the radiant point is circumpolar.  That's a fancy way of saying that it is always above the horizon and the shower will be active throughout the night.  The meteors emanate from the constellation Perseus (namesake of the shower) which is found in the northern sky.

 

Fingers crossed for clear night skies and no skeeters.....