Perseid Meteor Shower 2017: When, Where & How to See It

Space.com ^ | August 11, 2017 | Sarah Lewin

[Pontiac]

The peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower is peaking this weekend! According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, the Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year.

Typical rates are about 80 meteors an hour, but in outburst years (such as in 2016) the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour.

The meteor shower's actual peak is around 1 p.m. EDT Aug. 12, which means that the night before and the night after will both have good rates; Cooke said the show would be slightly better in the predawn hours of Aug. 12, but that there'd be a decent show both nights.

[Pontiac]

Should be a great show if you are in a place with little light pollution. Bad timing for the moon however being that it is 3/4 full.

[Bulwinkle]

Cloudy in D.C. Area

[RegulatorCountry]

I’m leaving for the northern Outer Banks in a few hours. Very little light pollution, spectacular stargazing, that is if there’s no cloud cover. The weather’s forecast to cool considerably today, high of only 80 but thunderstorms lingering through into Tuesday, so flip a coin as to whether anything will be visible tonight.

[Pontiac]

May be of interest

[Bullish]

How to see it?

Look up in the air at night.

[Pontiac]

Look to the North and slightly East

[Pontiac]

I wish you luck.

Best viewing around midnight so pack a jacket.

[Bullish]

I know, I’ve watched them every year for the last 25 or so. Last year I was seeing about 30-40 an hour after 2am and even with some city light pollution.

One time about 25 or so years ago we were on a fishing trip in Bishop Ca. in the mountains and we saw an ‘earth-grazer’ meteor. Really a fantastic, awesome and quite rare sight which I will never ever forget. I’ve been watching them every year since.

[RegulatorCountry]

One thing about being on the southeastern Atlantic coast in late summer is that the temperature doesn’t drop much at night, probably around 74. Supposed to be that way all week, even after the thunderstorms move out, high low 80’s, low in the low 70’s.

[ETL]

What causes the Perseids?

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed nearby Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126. But it won’t be forgotten in the meantime, because Earth passes through the dust and debris it leaves behind every year, creating the annual Perseid meteor shower.

When you sit back to watch a meteor shower, you’re actually seeing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 km) per second. When they’re in space, the pieces of debris are called “meteoroids,” but when they reach Earth’s atmosphere, they’re designated as “meteors.” If a piece makes it all the way down to Earth without burning up, it graduates to “meteorite.” Most of the meteors in the Perseids are much too small for that; they’re about the size of a grain of sand.

https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html

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[ETL]

[ETL]

How to see it? Look up in the air at night.

Or look down into a mirror at their reflection. :)

Seriously, the best way, IMO, is to lay on your back on a blanket or in a folding lounge/beach chair.

[Comment Not Approved]

There is so much smoke here in Western Montana that I can hardly see the lights in the valley from the mountain I live on. And the Glacier Park fires have closed the Sperry Chalet, where my wife was scheduled to spend two nights with her hiking girlfriends next week.

Usually the sky is alive with meteors from the Perseid Shower. This year we are lucky to see the moon through all the smoke.

[dljordan]

“I’m leaving for the northern Outer Banks in a few hours. “

Wife and I are heading to Rocky Mountain National Park tonight where I will spend several hours leaning against the car yawning while she takes pictures.

[BBB333]

Smokey here in Bozeman, too - though not as bad as your part of the state.

[Hot Tabasco]

I’m staying inside, I don’t want to get hit in the head by one of those things....

[Biggirl]

This is why I call space event the summer vacation meteor shower.

[Larry Lucido]

I was taking a meteor shower. Did I miss it?

[Larry Lucido]

Comet Swift-Tuttle

Mr. Tuttle was always in a hurry to get going on his vacation.

[mabarker1]

Col. Blake: Where’s Capt. Tuttle?

Hawkeye: He died jumping out of a plane to help the Children in a Village. He forgot His parachute!

Hotlips: OH! That brave man !!!