Moonless Sky Will Make for Spectacular 2015 Perseid Meteor Shower

The August 2015 Perseid is a must-see as there will be no moonlight hindering the night sky spectacle.

They radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero, but, as with all meteor shower radiant points, you don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower; instead, the meteors appear in all parts of the sky.

EarthSky.org lists a few tips on viewing the Perseid meteor shower this year. Fortunately, the slender waning crescent moon rising at or near dawn will not obtrude on this year’s shower.

It helps to be in a dark location, away from the brightest city lights, but here is no need to set up a telescope or binoculars. You can still catch a few “shooting stars” before bedtime. The event will highlight the science behind the Perseids, as well as NASA research related to meteors and comets.

If you’re keen to capture photos, the American Meteor Society has published a guide to get you started with your DSLR. Our little blue planet runs through many comet debris trails that are lingering out there in space throughout the year. This is what creates the streak of light that you see with shooting stars. This is because at its peak, between August 9-13, 60 to a 100 meteors an hour can be seen from a dark place. The meteor shower has been observed for at least 2,000 years as the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet’s debris each August, causing small bits of dust to enter and burn up in our atmosphere at 37 miles per second. The moon will be in its “new moon” phase, meaning it will be dark. The best viewing time will be Wednesday night going into Thursday, when the meteors begin trickling into view just before midnight.

Cloud cover forecast for Thursday night from the European model.