Late on the weekend of August 12-13, you can see summer’s most spectacular celestial event, the annual Perseid meteor showers.
Prime viewing time will occur before 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 12, then again toward 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 13. You won’t need binoculars.
The meteors, typically fast and bright, originate in the constellation Perseus and are visible in all parts of the sky. The long bright streak you will see is an icy, dusty debris stream the comet sheds as it orbits the sun.
According to Space.com, the “2017 Perseids will be a little more difficult to see due to the presence of the moon, which will be three-quarters full and will rise shortly before the shower hits its peak around midnight local time.”
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, according to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke.
