Perseids Meteor Shower: What to Expect and Where to Look
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Ethan Miller/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The annual Perseids meteor shower is set to reach its brilliant peak Wednesday night when as many as 100 meteors per hour will be visible streaking across the sky.
This year’s sky spectacle is expected to be especially dazzling since it coincides with the new moon, creating the perfect dark background for watching meteors zoom through the sky. The shower is set to reach its peak at about 2 a.m. Mountain Time on Thursday morning.
For the best viewing, NASA recommends looking toward the constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus in the northeastern part of the sky.
The Perseids meteor shower is the result of space debris from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet striking the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Perseids have been observed for at least 2,000 years and are associated with the Swift-Tuttle comet orbiting around the sun once every 133 years. The Earth passes through a cloud of the comet’s debris each year in August, according to NASA, causing small bits of comet dust to enter our atmosphere at 37 miles per second.
The light show is caused when the dust disintegrates, creating the gorgeous bright streaks that light up the sky.
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