Perseid meteor shower peaks Aug. 12-13 with optimal viewing conditions
NASA says the Perseids will reach their maximum activity on Aug. 12-13, offering 50-100 meteors per hour, with dark skies aided by a new moon.
The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak on Aug. 12 and 13, providing observers in the United States with an estimated 50 to 100 meteors per hour, according to NASA. The display is produced by debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which the Earth encounters each year as it moves through the comet’s trail.
Astronomers note that the new-moon phase during the peak will reduce sky brightness, improving visibility. The best viewing window in the Northern Hemisphere is the predawn hours of Aug. 13, though sightings are possible from 10 p.m. the previous night.
Experts advise observers to find a dark location away from city lights, allow their eyes to adjust for about thirty minutes, and focus on a section of the sky near the constellation Perseus, from which the meteors appear to radiate.
"With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long 'wakes' of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere," NASA said. "The moon is beautiful, but it's such a diva. New moon means we don't have moonlight flooding the sky, and you tend to see way more meteors as a result," astronomer Aparna Venkatesan said. "We don't have to suffer through a cold winter night to get a good view of meteors," astronomer Zach Vanderbosch said.