![]() ![]() Just try to face away from the Moon when looking for meteors. While the shower is best when moonlight is absent, you can still watch for shooting stars if the Moon’s around.Bring an extra layer of clothes if you’re worried about being cold when you are sitting or lying outside at night, your body heat radiates directly into the sky. Find a slight incline so that your head will be higher than your feet. To avoid a stiff neck, bring a chaise lounge or reclining lawn chair. Avoid looking at your cell phone or other lights during the meteor shower, as this will damage your night vision. It is better to look at the whole sky than a tiny part of it, and your eyes will automatically move toward any motion up above. Though it might be tempting, avoid using binoculars or a telescope. Gaze at whatever part of the sky is darkest at your location.You’ll need about 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darker skies, so get out earlier and be patient.Mountaintops are also great viewing locations because they are usually at a high enough altitude to reduce haze from air and light pollution. Get away from light pollution! You’ll want to avoid city lights.The Perseid meteors radiate from the Perseus constellation. Photo Credit: Adam Block/University of Arizona. When the tiny bits of dust trains strike Earth’s upper atmosphere, friction with the air causes each particle to heat and burn up. The Perseid shower is associated with the Swift-Tuttle comet. Meteors, also known as falling or shooting stars, are caused by tiny dust trains entering Earth’s atmosphere from space. Meteor showers occur regularly each year when the Earth crosses the orbit of a comet and its debris enters the atmosphere. Locating the constellation Perseus might therefore help you to see as many meteors as possible. A radiant is the point of origin of the meteor shower, so the Perseid meteors will appear to be traveling away from the constellation Perseus in the night sky. If you’re an avid sky watcher or have a sky map, it does help to know that the Perseid shower is named for the constellation Perseus, which is its radiant. You can also view the shooting stars ANYWHERE in the sky. That’s an easy answer: When it comes to meteor showers, you can view them from ANYWHERE in the world! It doesn’t matter what state or country you live in. See your local moonrise times! Where to Look in the Sky The Perseids can be viewed any time after dark, but for the most avid stargazer, the meteor count is always highest in the predawn hours when the skies are at their very darkest and when your position on Earth is forward to the motion through the dust cloud. In 2023, if you’re watching from dark skies, expect 50 to 70 shooting stars every hour! That’s about a meteor a minute! The Perseids’ fame comes from the fact that it reliably has the brightest and most numerous meteors. The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year from about July 23 to August 22, with the peak from late midnight August 11 to dawn August 13. Want more details? See the Almanac’s complete guide to the Perseid Meteor Showers below … When Are the Perseid Meteor Showers? If you have small kids or are impatient to start looking at, say, 9 PM, go right ahead, but be aware that early birds will only see a meteor every four or five minutes or so. ![]() Check the short-range forecast here.īut mark August 12 on your calendar, because then you’ll see one a minute starting around midnight or 1 AM. If Saturday night has a cloudy forecast, watch on Friday when you’ll still see a shooting star every two or three minutes, especially after midnight. We want the kind of night when the heavens seem wallpapered with lots of stars. ![]() Ideally it should not be very humid or hazy. Therefore, and to avoid neck strain, spread a blanket or use lawn chairs. By the time a companion has shouted “look at that!” you’ve missed it. Each is visible for only a second or two. They collide head on with the Earth and sizzle through our atmosphere at 37 miles per second. If your backyard suffers an obstructed view, good tried-and-true locations include cemeteries, lake sides, and baseball fields. You need a wide open swath of sky, any section of sky will do.
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