The Perseid Meteor shower—an annual show of shooting stars—has some added bonuses this year.
Earth passes through the comet Swift-Tuttle's orbit and sweeps up some of its debris each year in early August, according to Space.com. We see rapid streaks of light as those particles of debris hit the thin, upper atmosphere of the Earth, and the air is heated to incandescence.
This year, the meteor shower will peak late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, when the moon is in its waning crescent phase. That means the moonlight won't interfere with your view of the dashing meteors, according to Astronomy.com.
The forecast is for a clear and cool evening in Cartersville, so you should have a good view.
Where to View
You don't need a telescope to view this celestial event, so just head out to a dark spot.
How to Learn More
is presenting Friday a 7 p.m. lecture on the Perseid Meteor Shower, featuring Astronomer David Dundee and images and video clips from the museum's .
Will you be watching the Perseid Meteor shower? If so, tell us why in comments and if you snap a photo, upload it to the Patch Pics and Clips page.
Perseid Meteor Trivia
- These meteors travel 37 miles per second!
- The best time to view will be 2 a.m. on Sunday.
- The shower began July 23, and you could see meteors any night this week, mostly after midnight.
- Look toward the Perseus constellation, which forms an inverted "Y" shape and is in the northeast.
- Some of the meteroids are as small as a grain of sand, but they have the kinetic energy of a nuclear bomb!
- If you see a very slow, bright object sailing across the sky, it's either a satellite or a Space Station.