Perseid Meteor Shower August 12-13, 2008

The Perseid Meteor Show is once again on the horizon and there are no tickets to buy for this show - IT'S FREE! And it's best viewed unaided, by the naked eye, without a telescope or binoculars. And it's perfectly safe to watch, unlike a solar eclipse.

If you are in a dark, clear sky you may see up to 80 meteors each hour. The meteors you'll see during the Perseid shower are small particles entering Earth's atmosphere at high speed and these particles come from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, last seen in 1992. The meteors appear to come from the Perseus constellation.

Peak time for this show will be on the night of August 12 and the early morning of the 13th, but you will possibly be able to see the beginning of the show starting on the evening of the 11th and you might catch the meteor remnants on the night of the 13th. Look towards the north-eastern sky for the highest concentration of 'shooting stars' or quick streaks of light. If the conditions are good you may be able to see one meteor or more every few minutes. The Moon is waxing and sets at 1:30 AM so it should not interfere with the show after it sets.

For many years, probably 20 years, Rick and I have looked forward to the Perseid Meteor Shower. Living in Arizona, in what used to be the far outskirts of Phoenix (but not anymore), we had dark skies to view the stars. Many times my younger brothers, Mike & Mark, would visit us in August and we would take the golf cart and lounge chairs to the outer edges of our community and lay out under the stars watching the numerous meteors travelling through the atmosphere. Nowadays we have a good amount of light pollution in the outskirts of Phoenix so the starry sky is not as brilliant as it used to be. We're hoping for a crystal clear sky, a slight breeze to keep the mosquitoes away, and overnight temps around 45 (Phoenix will be around 85). We'll be out there in the wide open spaces of the campground, optimistic for a good showing this year from Montana.