The Perseids meteor shower is often the best star show of the year, but due to a large nearly-full moon, will be less easily seen in August 2019.
Spectators can expect to see about 10-15 Perseids per hour on the peak August 13, according to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke.
"Unfortunately, the moon will be very close to full on the night of the peak, which will wash out the fainter Perseids," Cooke told Space.com. "The Perseids are rich in fireballs, so you'll still see Perseids; you just won't see the show you've seen on nights when the moon has not been around."
"It won't be a total wash-out, because the Perseids are rich in bright meteors, but the moonlight is going to spoil most of the show," he added.
To best see the Perseids, go to the darkest possible location and lean back to observe as much sky as possible directly above you.
The rates of Perseids visible will increase from about 10 p.m. in one's local time zone all the way through dawn, so the later one looks the better. Earlier in the night there will be fewer meteors, but the ones that appear will have longer tails as they graze along more of the atmosphere.
Images and quotes courtesy of www.nasa.com and www.space.com; composite image by astrophotographer Stojan Stojanovski.
August 14-We found there was too much light pollution in our area to see any meteors. :-(
Thanks for reading "Watching the Perseid Meteor Shower August 13?"
Comments(4)