August 10, 2023 Blog No Comments

This year, the Perseid meteor shower is observable from July 17 to August 24. But this weekend, it’s set to reach its peak. The best time to see it: around 4:00 am EST on Sunday, August 13. 

The name “Perseids” comes from the apparent trajectory of these meteors. They appear to streak from the direction of the Perseus constellation, though they actually stem from a cloud of debris (fragments of ice, dust, and rocks) left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.  The meteor shower is a yearly spectacle, and this year stargazers may witness up to 100 blazing fireballs and luminous trails per hour. Even greater meteor activity is anticipated at the height of the shower.

For those unable to escape bright city lights, the Virtual Telescope Project offers a live stream of the Perseid meteor shower on their website and YouTube channel starting at 11:30 pm EST on Saturday.

 

Written by Outdoorosity
Inspiration and Information About the Outdoors