Perseid Meteor Shower: How to see it and more

One of the best annual meteor showers of the year will soon take place for the northern hemisphere. But when, where and how can you view it?

Every year in late July, earth begins to intersect a cloud of dust leftover from the comet Swift-Tuttle. This cloud of dust is full of meteors from the comet as well as broken asteroids that become visible once they enter earths atmosphere. These meteors are often seen the most near the constellation Perseus, hence the showers name Perseid.

Around August 12, the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak visibility and offers an incredible site to people all over the northern hemisphere. The best time to view the shower will be the night of August 11 into the morning of August 12 from 3-5 a.m. central time. It is best if you drive to a rural area for viewing where city lights aren’t present and you will need to find the Perseus constellation. If you are lucky, you could see up to 100 meteors per hour, but the moon and weather both play an important role in whether you will see the shower.

The brightness of the moon can often interfere with the visibility of the shower. On Tuesday night the moon will be in a third quarter phase, meaning there will still be significant moonlight in the atmosphere that could limit meteor sightings. When viewing the shower, try to block the moon with a building or tree to better your chance of spotting the meteors.

Concerning the weather, as of now the forecast for Tuesday night is looking pretty dry with partly cloudy skies. Due to some clouds being in the atmosphere, visibility could be reduced but it still is worth going outside and trying to spot a few meteors. I’ll continue to update the forecast in the days to come…

Meteorologist Brittany Foster

@BrittFosterKLKN

bfoster@klkntv.com