Perseid Meteor Shower: When to Watch in Towson

The key to viewing the show is getting away from city lights and being patient, said Adam Block of the University of Arizona Science Mount Lemmon Sky Center.

NASA meteor experts said that because the moon is nearly new there shouldn’t be moonlight to mess with the view.

Occurring yearly between July 17 and August 24, the meteors reach their peak on Wednesday and Thursday night when over 100 meteors an hour will be produced.

He said: “Although it is unfortunately still daylight at that time in the UK and Ireland, it is just possible that enhanced rates may persist for a few hours around this time and so be observable soon after dark”.

Cloud cover forecasts suggest the viewing will be good over much of the eastern and western U.S., with the potential for cloudiness from the central Rockies to the Upper Midwest.

The best meteor shower of the year will light up the night skies this week, and a dimmer moon means it will be more visible than in recent years. The skies will be clear for an unusually large section of the United States.

Every August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet’s orbital debris. “They rise soon after sunset, but you’ll want to wait til they are higher in the sky to see the most meteors”. “They are tiny, tiny things”, Block said.

A meteor shower is caused by small bits of dust and rock shed by a comet as it orbits the Sunday.

If you want to watch the meteor shower from the comfort of your living room, Slooh astronomers Bob Berman and for a live dark-sky broadcast on Wednesday at 8 p.m. You might also check out #meteorshower on Twitter. “Look towards the familiar constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus in the northeast”, said NASA. The Perseid’s radiant is in the north-east constellation of Perseus.