Here’s When and How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower When It Peaks
The annual Perseid meteor shower is about to ramp up next week and you’re not going to want to miss it. The showers are the result of the Earth passing through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which we do every year and this year should be an exceptional show.
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00:00Well, the annual Perseid meteor shower is about to ramp up next week, and you're not
00:07going to want to miss it.
00:09The showers are the result of Earth passing through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet,
00:13which we do every year.
00:14This year the cosmic light show will last from July 14th to September 1st, however they
00:18are expected to peak on August 12th.
00:21Experts say that near the apex of the shower, you can likely see upwards of 100 meteors
00:26every hour.
00:27The Internet reports that in 2016 the peak saw some 200 meteors an hour.
00:31It's called the Perseid meteor shower because all of the meteors tend to originate from
00:35the direction of the Perseus constellation.
00:37Unfortunately, this year the shower also peaks when the moon is still quite bright, at around
00:4244% illumination.
00:43So when's best to see it?
00:44Well, for North American skygazers, that would be shortly after 3am, universal time.