Persied Meteor Shower - August

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Peak viewing: August 12-13 (although a week before or after in dark skies works too)

What to watch for:

The Perseids' peak comes at the same time each year because that's when Earth travels through the path of gritty space debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which crosses our planet's orbital path every 133 years. When those bits of grit pass through the upper reaches of our atmosphere at speeds of more than 125,000 mph, they light up trails of ionized air. Every once in a while, the more substantial bits flare up as fireballs.

The Perseids are so named because they appear to emanate from a spot in the constellation Perseus, known as the radiant. It's good to keep an eye on the radiant if you can, but in fact, meteors can flash anywhere in the night sky. For that reason, meteor-watching is best done with the naked eye rather than binoculars or telescopes.

More Info

[Tyger]

OOOoooooo!!! Ill have to take a look tonight! Thanks Troy!

[*Siren*]

I know what I'm doing tonight! Thank you for posting this.

[victoriavengeance (1)]

I told my boyfriend about this. and that, since he's a dinosaur, he should go into hiding

[Simon Bar Sinister]

here's a Perseid meteor caught from above:

:D

[Tyger]

^^^^^

Super kool!!!

I never saw it tho cause the sky was always too cloudy...