The annual Perseids display is expected to peak Aug. 12–13, offering favorable viewing conditions across the United States, particularly at national parks and other areas protected from urban light pollution.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Skywatchers across the United States could see as many as 100 meteors per hour when the Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak on the moonless night of Aug. 12–13.
NASA considers the Perseids the “best meteor shower of the year” because of its abundance, brightness and tendency to produce long trails of light as meteors pass through Earth’s atmosphere.
“The Perseids [meteor shower], which peaks in mid-August, is considered the best meteor shower of the year,” NASA said. “With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long ‘wakes’ of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth’s atmosphere.
“The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers, with about 50 to 100 meteors seen per hour.”
The annual celestial display occurs as Earth moves through a stream of dust and debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. When those particles enter the atmosphere, they burn up and create bright streaks that can travel across the sky at approximately 37 miles per second.
The shower is named for the constellation Perseus because the meteors appear to radiate from that region of the sky. Perseus is expected to rise shortly after 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Aug. 12 and set shortly after 1:20 a.m. Eastern time on Aug. 13.
The full Perseids viewing period began July 17 and continues through Aug. 24, but the greatest activity is forecast for Aug. 12 and 13.
The shower’s summer timing has helped make it one of the year’s most popular astronomical events, allowing observers in the Northern Hemisphere to watch during relatively warm nighttime conditions.
The American Meteor Society said the shower has been producing normal rural viewing rates of approximately 30 to 50 meteors per hour. The organization defines a meteor shower as an event during which at least 10 meteors appear within one hour.
During the peak, however, observers in suitable locations could see approximately 100 meteors per hour.
This year’s strongest activity is also expected to coincide with a new moon. During that lunar phase, the moon’s illuminated side faces away from Earth, producing an apparently moonless night and reducing natural light that could obscure fainter meteors.
The darker conditions should make smaller and less luminous objects easier to see, particularly in areas away from cities and other sources of artificial light.
The Perseids will be visible “from all places on Earth with dark sky.”
At least 18 national park sites have received Dark Sky Park certification, and DarkSky International has recognized 177 locations across the United States for preserving skies sufficiently removed from urban light pollution.
Visitors at many of those locations can see thousands of stars that would otherwise be hidden by artificial lighting. Under favorable conditions, the Milky Way and faint objects such as nebulae may also be visible without a telescope.
DarkSky-certified national park sites include Arches National Park in Utah; Badlands National Park in South Dakota; Big Bend National Park in Texas; Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado; Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah; Canyonlands National Park in Utah; Capitol Reef National Park in Utah; Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico; Death Valley National Park in California; Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona; Great Basin National Park in Nevada; Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado; Joshua Tree National Park in California; Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Texas; Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky; Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado; Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona; Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota; and Zion National Park in Utah.
The National Park Service has also published a broader collection of locations associated with night-sky viewing and has gathered night-sky measurements from 628 sites across the lower 48 states.
Several parks and federal recreation areas have scheduled public astronomy programs around the Perseids peak.
Acadia National Park will hold its weekly Acadia’s Night Sky program at 9 p.m. local time Aug. 12.
George Washington Memorial Parkway will host a Perseids Meteor Shower Stargazing Party at 9 p.m. local time Aug. 12.
Zion National Park has scheduled its Kolob Night Sky Telescope Viewing Program for 9 p.m. local time on both Aug. 12 and Aug. 13.
Redwood National and State Parks will present a Night Sky Program at the Jedediah Smith Day-Use Area beginning at 9:15 p.m. local time Aug. 12.
Capitol Reef National Park will hold a Meteor Shower Talk at 10 p.m. local time on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13.
Great Basin National Park will host an astronomy program at 8:30 p.m. local time Aug. 13, while Bryce Canyon National Park will hold a Star Party at 9:45 p.m. local time that evening.
The Perseids can be viewed without a telescope or binoculars. The best conditions are generally found in open areas with an unobstructed view of the sky, minimal artificial lighting and enough time for the eyes to adjust to darkness.
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