Keep an eye to the sky this weekend, you might see a shooting star. Often referred to as the best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids peak on the night of Sunday, August 11th, 2024 where up to 100 meteors could be visible per hour.

Even with the peak on Sunday night, meteors can still happen in the days before and after, but at a lesser rate per hour. For that reason, be on the lookout for them in the night sky over the weekend.

The best viewing times will be after midnight once the Moon dips below the horizon. Moonlight could wash out meteor streaks while the Moon still maintains a position in the sky. The Perseid meteor shower in 2016 brought several hundred meteors per hour – because there was no moonlight. City lights can also limit the number of visible streaks. Optimal viewing locations are away from urban settings.

The Perseid meteor shower happens every year in the mid-July to late-August timeframe, peaking somewhere between. The shower gets its name because it appears in the general direction of the constellation Perseus.

Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris left behind by a comet or asteroid. During summer in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is at a point in its orbit where it passes through the Perseid cloud, a stream of debris behind left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. The debris slices through Earth’s atmosphere at 37 miles per second, burning up as it does so. This produces a streak of light which is observable as a meteor.

Want to watch the Perseids with others? The Highland Road Park Observatory will be holding an event starting at 10 p.m. on Sunday, August 11^th. The Observatory grounds will be open until 2 a.m. for viewing.

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