The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks next week, but start watching the skies now to see shooting stars before the full moon washes out the show. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports.
The best time to look for shooting stars is between midnight and dawn. By the time the shower peaks on August 12th and 13th, a nearly full moon will outshine the fainter meteors. But bright fireballs will still be visible. They’ll radiate from the constellation of Perseus in the northeast.
A few meteors might also appear from the Delta Aquariid shower which began in mid-July. Those ones radiate from the constellation of Aquarius in the southern sky.
Meteor showers take place when Earth passes through the dusty path left by a comet. Most shooting stars that burn up in our atmosphere are smaller than a grain of sand.
