Enjoy a summer evening of sky watching as the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12 through the morning of August 13. Join meteor experts from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for live Ustream commentary during the shower. Perseid meteor rates can get as high as 100 per hour, with many fireballs visible in the night sky
How to View the Perseid meteor shower
The best opportunity to see the Perseid meteor shower is during the dark, pre-dawn hours of August 13. The Perseidss streak across the sky from many directions. For optimal viewing, find an open skyline, where you can view the horizon without obstructions, such as buildings or trees. Try to view the Perseids as far away from artificial lights as possible. The darker the sky, the better viewing experience you can have. Lie on the ground and look straight up. Remember, your eyes can take up to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so allow plenty of time for your eyes to adjust.
About the Perseids
The Perseids have been observed for at least 2,000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. Every August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet’s debris. This debris field consists of bits of ice and dust — most over 1,000 years old — and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere to create one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere. Those with sharp eyes will see that the meteors radiate from the direction of the constellation Perseus.
NASA Ustream: Observe the Perseid Meteor Shower
On Aug. 12, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will host a live Ustream broadcast about the Perseid meteor shower. The event will highlight the science behind the Perseids, as well as NASA research related to meteors and comets. The broadcast will air 9 p.m. CDT Aug. 12, to 1 a.m. CDT Aug. 13 on the following Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
Special guests will include meteor experts Dr. Bill Cooke, Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw, all of NASA’s Micrometeoroid Office, located at Marshall. They will provide on-air commentary, as well as answer questions online, using Marshall social media accounts. Also scheduled to join the broadcast, via telephone, are experts from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, in Houston; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; the American Meteor Society; the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California; and others.
There are two methods to join the online conversation during the broadcast. NASA followers can tweet questions to “@NASA_Marshall” using the hashtag “#askNASA.” Followers may also post questions on the Marshall Facebook account, replying to the 9 p.m. Aug. 12 Perseid “Q&A” post at: https://www.facebook.com/nasamarshallcenter
Hey Mr. Cooke,
Will the Perseid meteor shower continue on the night of Friday August 14th or does it end in the early morning hours of that Friday?
Also, how early on the night of August 12th does the peak of the shower begin?
Thanks
Hi –
The Perseids will continue after Aug 12, for a couple days, but the per-hour rate significantly drops off. Some of our staff reported seeing a couple this weekend.
The best viewing is a couple hours before dawn on the morning of Aug. 13.
Good Luck!
Hey Ms. Rainey,
Okay. I’ll be sure to catch the night of the 12th then!
Thank You! You too!
DEAR SIR/MADAM
CONGRATULATION ! WELL DONE ON MARS PROJECT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
SALEEM
This actually answered my drawback, thank you!
I wanted to write a simple message so as to say thanks to you for all the remarkable tricks you are showing at this site. My prolonged internet research has finally been rewarded with incredibly good points to exchange with my classmates and friends. I would assert that we website visitors are undeniably endowed to dwell in a perfect site with very many special professionals with useful solutions. I feel pretty grateful to have used your entire webpage and look forward to really more thrilling moments reading here. Thanks a lot again for everything.