BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Brad Klein reviews upcoming astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire.
This week, a look forward to one of the year’s best meteor showers, the Perseids.
Patience is an essential ingredient when it comes to view a meteor shower, and it is much more comfortable to sit under the summer sky and watch for shooting stars than it is in winter.
“The peak [for viewing the Perseids this year] is predicted to be August 12 to 13," according to McGuire.
“So starting at 11 p.m. on August 12, stay up for a couple hours and look up and see what you can see.”
Luckily, the period for viewing stretches over several weeks, so if one night is cloudy, the next might be better, until the shower tapers off in the days just past mid-August.
This year, the waning moon will be about 85% illuminated during the peak day, and its bright light may wash out some of the fainter meteors.
