Summer Star Shower: Watch the Perseids with NASA! - Watch the Skies

The constellation Orion is framed by two Perseid meteors on Aug. 12, 2018, in Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah.

NASA/Bill Dunford

The Perseids are back! One of the year’s brightest and most popular meteor showers has been ramping up since early July and will sparkle in the skies through the end of August. The shower reaches its peak on the night of Aug. 12 into the early morning of Aug. 13, and its visibility should be ideal thanks to the new Moon phase that will keep the skies dark.

True to our blog’s name, we want to watch the skies with you. Join us as we stay up late to catch the show on our sky cameras. We will be livestreaming a meteor watch party starting at midnight ET on Aug. 13 on YouTube. Throughout the night, we’ll talk to meteor experts, watch live views of the skies, and answer your questions.

We’ll be watching from cameras set up at Marshall Space Flight Center’s ALaMO – the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory, which is celebrating 20 years of discovery this year. We will also share sky views from the International Space Station. During the peak, the shower can produce as many as 50-100 meteors per hour if viewing conditions are right.

The Perseids are among the oldest recorded meteor showers, with observations dating back more than 2,000 years. They are a favorite annual event because they are reliably active and visible, take place in warmer months, and are known for producing fireballs – exceptionally bright meteors that leave a glowing trail as they streak across the sky.

The Perseids are so named because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, which is visible in the northern sky. In Greek mythology, Perseus is the warrior who slayed Medusa and rescued Princess Andromeda, whose namesake constellation shares the sky nearby. But don’t worry too much about finding Perseus to catch a glimpse of shooting stars. Meteors can appear anywhere overhead.

The best way to watch the Perseid meteor shower is to find a location with dark skies, give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, and simply look up. Then sit back, be patient, and enjoy one of the year’s premier celestial shows. 

Source: Summer Star Shower: Watch the Perseids with NASA! - NASA