Any night this week is a good time to hunt for shooting stars, as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports.
This year’s shower is expected to be especially good, because the moon will be just a thin sliver in the sky, setting in the west in the early evening. In an open place with a dark sky, you might see a meteor every minute. The best time to look is between midnight and dawn. Earlier in the night, stargazers will see fewer meteors but might catch a few stunning, slow shooting stars called “earthgrazers.” The meteors will radiate from the constellation of Perseus in the northeast, but they’ll cross every part of the sky. They’re formed from tiny bits of dust left in the wake of a comet. The shower’s peak ends on Friday morning.
