Get ready to wish upon a star or a hundred. The Perseid Meteor Shower will light up the night sky tonight and tomorrow. This year’s shower is expected to extra spectacular. Not only will the moon provide clear skies, but the Delta Aquarids will mingle with the meteors, painting the darkness with hues of pinks and gold. You need not be an astrologist to enjoy this beautiful show from space. All you need is a comfy lawn chair that reclines all the way back, some coffee to keep you from dozing off and a maybe a citronella candle, to prevent uninvited mosquitoes from bugging around.
Although the best time to watch for shooting stars is early morning, at approximately around 4 A.M. you can still catch a glimpse of the light show as soon as the sky is dark. Look for the constellation Cassiopeia, which is a fairly familiar string of stars. The constellation Perseus is just below cassiopeia and where the meteor shower will be most identifiable. The higher in the sky these constellations rise, the more visible the meteors will become.
The meteors will come across the sky every which direction. Pick out a spot in the backyard that free from trees, or set up show at the beach to get the best views of the shower. Also, the human eye takes some adjusting to the darkness. When looking up at the night sky, allow 15 or 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
Where does the Meteor Shower Come From
The Perseid Meteor Shower is really asteroid debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle. Each year, the Earth crosses the orbital path of the Comet Swift-Tuttle, causing the meteors to collide into the upper atmosphere of the Earth. The result from down here on planet Earth, is a spectacular light show of hundreds of shooting stars, flying across the night sky. While the second week of August is when the Perseid Meteor shower is the most visible, you could notice the shower from the second week in July through the third week in August.