Perseid Meteor Showers Thursday Aug. 12
The Perseid meteor showers peak on Thursday night, August 12th .and the morning of August 13th, showing up to 60 meteors an hour. Meteor showers as caused by debris that is shed by comets as the travel in their orbit. If we pass them in their orbit, we see that debris as it streaks into our atmosphere, burning up as it falls to the ground. Sometimes called a shooting star (if it streaks across the sky) or a falling star (if it falls to earth) they are wonderful to watch. The meteor showers are named after the constellations from which they appear to occur, in this case, the constellation Perseus. If you miss the peak, you can still see some meteors until August 22nd.
To view the meteor shower, go outside around midnight, after the Moon has set, and the constellation Perseus has risen. Perseus can be found in the northeast, and is named after that famous Greek hero who slay the Gorgon Medusa, and rescued the beautiful Andromeda, a constellation you can find very near to his. (Two recent movies featured Perseus, “Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief” which was very fun, and “Clash of the Titans” which was horrible, in my opinion.) It is best to have a lawn chair, so you can watch the sky in the direction of Perseus, without straining your neck. Make a relaxing night of it.