They appear every August as Earth makes its annual trek around the sun, but Saturday and Sunday night should provide spectators the best meteor shower of 2018.

Spectacular Perseid Meteor Shower Can Be Seen Across the Night Skies
Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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Here's why.
1. The weather and clear sky conditions are favorable for maximum viewing.
2. The moon will be a mere crescent, and set early in the west which should allow for dark, moonless skies, the perfect backdrop for this annual celestial bombardment.

This meteor shower is provided compliments of comet Swift-Tuttle, which made it's last swing around the sun in 1992. Every year the earth passes through the dust and particles that the comet has left in its wake. Those particles burn up as they slam into the Earth's upper atmosphere.

This year, the Earth will pass through the most dense portion of that dust trail on Sunday (8/12-13) night, although viewing after midnight on Saturday (8/11-12) should also be very good as well.

The best time of the evening to start watching is right around midnight both nights, as that is when the star constellation Perseus will rise in the east-northeast. This meteor shower gets it's name (Perseids) from the area of the sky in which the streams of 'shooting stars' seem to emanate from.

For the BEST viewing move to a remote location, well away from street lights and light pollution in general. A lawn chair, along with some mosquito spray, and viewing in a group of interested spectators will give you the best results. According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, it will be very possible to view 60-70 meteors per hour. [source: Space.com]
If you're interested in viewing, drop me a note on twitter @trainwreckradio, or send me an E-Mail HERE. Perhaps we can hook-up somewhere here in Rochester Sunday night. We can crank some Z-Rock, and get all starry-eyed! (I'll be out of town Saturday night) If you're up for a viewing session, or you want to share what you saw on Saturday night, tell us about it on the Z-Rock Facebook Page.

 

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