HARRISBURG, Pa. — You could see up to 60 meteors an hour the next two nights as the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks in our night sky.
Linda Powell, the Planetarium Director at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, says that this is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year and viewing conditions are especially perfect to get outside and watch.
“We’re going to be lucky enough this time, the moon’s going to have set earlier in the evening, so it’ll be a moonless night because even moonlight can drown some of them out," Powell tells FOX43. "So we’ll get a chance to see it, but you want to be a little further away from city lights as you can get.”
Getting away from city lights and making sure you give your eyes about 20 minutes or more to adjust are important if you want to try and view the shower. The best viewing times Thursday and Friday morning will be between midnight and 4:00 a.m.
“It will be in the northeast. Perseus rises just after, right above the horizon after midnight, and it’s just above Perseus and the W of the northern sky, which is Cassiopeia, it’s kind of right in between those 2 constellations," says Powell.
These meteors are debris left over from the Swift-Tuttle comet, which orbits between the Sun and beyond the orbit of Pluto every 133 years according to NASA.
Powell tells FOX43 that this is a great time to get outside with the kids and to watch the show.
“They have a much better shot at being able to see several meteors during a meteor shower than they do on a random evening of going out and observing the sky, so it’s a great opportunity!”
If you aren't able to view the meteor shower where you live, NASA will be livestreaming the celestial event the night of August 11th through August 12th from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. eastern time.