The year’s best meteor shower is about to peak. Here’s when to see it in Pennsylvania
Itching to go stargazing on a summer night? Your nighttime viewing might get a little more exciting this August thanks to an annual meteor shower.
The Perseid meteor shower kicked off in mid-July, but is expected to peak between the night of Aug. 11 and the early morning of Aug. 13. Because it occurs in the summer when nights are warm in the Northern Hemisphere, the Perseid shower is considered the best meteor shower of the year, according to NASA.
“With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long ‘wakes’ of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth’s atmosphere,” the agency wrote online.
The Perseids are widely known for providing a plentiful shower that produces between 50 and 100 visible meteors per hour. Its meteors also produce fireballs, or larger explosions of light and color that can last longer than a typical meteor shower, NASA says. Fireballs are generally a result of larger particles of cometary material.
The average Perseid meteoroid moves at roughly 133,200 mph as it hits Earth’s atmosphere, astronomy publication Space.com reports. They reach a temperature of about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and are visible when they’re about 60 miles from the ground.
The space debris that creates the Perseids originates from the comet 109P/Swift-Tutte, according to NASA. The comet takes roughly 133 years to orbit the sun just once.
If you hope to see the Perseid meteor shower in Pennsylvania, here’s what you need to know.
When can I watch the Perseid meteor shower in Pennsylvania?
You should look for the meteor shower once it’s dark enough to see stars. However, the best time to see meteors cross the sky is in the pre-dawn hours, according to Space.com. At times, you might be able to catch visible meteors as early as 10 p.m.
This year’s Perseids view is expected to be affected by a waxing moon, but the moon should set as the meteor shower begins to peak, NASA wrote online. You should have an easier time seeing meteors so long as the sky remains clear.
August’s full moon will be a blue moon and a supermoon.
The Perseids get their name by originating from a point in the sky where the constellation of Perseus is located, NASA writes. That constellation rises in the northeast, but the meteor shower should be visible across the sky if conditions are clear enough. The constellation is not the source of the meteors, but rather a visual aid to help viewers establish which shower they are seeing on a given night.
Perseus should be visible above the horizon all night long for most of Pennsylvania, as nearly the entire commonwealth’s latitude sits at or above 40 degrees North or higher. This should make for an easier viewing experience, Space.com reports.
Tips for viewing a meteor shower
You’re best off viewing a meteor shower with a dark, clear sky. Ideally, look for meteors once the moon has set, as moonlight can wash out meteors’ light.
Consider picking a viewing location that is far away from sources of light, including light pollution or personal equipment like your cell phone or camera.
Experts say the naked eye is the best way to watch a meteor shower, as you’ll be able to observe the entire sky and see the most meteors possible. Binoculars or telescopes will limit your field of view and make it harder to catch up with meteors, which travel quickly across the sky.
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