Perseid Meteor Shower

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 best viewing will be the evening of August 13.  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.

Watching the meteor shower is actually observing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright streak of light.  In outer space this debris is referred to as meteoroids.  When they enter and burn-up in Earth's atmosphere they're referred to as meteors.   If a piece makes it all the way down to Earth without burning up, it is called a meteorite.   Most of the meteors in the Perseids are about the size of a grain of sand but if you’re lucky a few might be the size of a pea or a marble.

With a waxing crescent moon the sky will be darker and viewing conditions optimized.

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.....