Annual Perseid meteor shower this Sunday

By eNature

The annual Perseid meteor shower should be visible in the night sky for the next few nights, with the peak expected this Saturday night/Sunday morning through Sunday night/Monday morning.

If your local weather cooperates, the best night for viewing is looking to be Sunday night— really more early Sunday morning.

This should be a good year for viewing the Perseids, since the waning crescent moon is not really bright enough to drown out the 50 or meteors an hours the shower can produce.

The best viewing hours should be between 11 p.m. and dawn, when the constellation Perseus is above the horizon. Although the meteors appear to come from Perseus, they actually are part of a debris trail left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which the Earth encounters every August.

To spot meteors, find a dark-sky spot away from street lights. Perseids can appear anywhere in the sky; astronomers recommend looking in whatever direction the sky is darkest for you.

Earthsky.org has a great guide for determining the best time to catch the Perseids in your town.