Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Wednesday Night & Early Thursday

“The Perseids build up to their peak slowly, so if that night is cloudy, try any early morning” through Friday, Deane Morrison advised in a Minnesota Starwatch report for August from the University of Minnesota.

Of course any bonafide astronomer will be quick to tell you they are not “falling stars”, they are meteors which heat up when they come into contact with Earth’s atmosphere.

The meteors will streak across the sky at about 60 kilometres per second from near the constellation Perseus that the meteor shower is named for.

In this instance, the Perseids happen every August as the orbit of earth passes through a debris field left from a passing comet.

Westbrook added,”One of the neat things about meteor showers and seeing meteors, you don’t need a telescope, you don’t need any special equipment”. As Swift-Tuttle nears the sun, the extreme heat vaporizes ice particles on the comet and bits of debris break off, leaving a trail of dust in the comet’s wake.

According to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, the best show for eastern Canada should be at around 4 a.m. Thursday morning, when there could be as many as 90 to 100 visible meteors per hour. The major meteor shower will be visible all over the Northern Hemisphere. With a new moon on Friday, the sky will be near its darkest in the monthly lunar cycle when the meteor shower peaks. It last coincided with a new moon in 2007.

It can take your eyes a while to adjust to the dark, so give it time and keep away from your mobile phone. However, some “experts” suggest just lying on your back and looking up for the best viewing. However, you will still see meteors around and after midnight. If you still don’t get a chance to look out for the meteors, Slooh and NASA both will be streaming the Perseid meteor shower online, starting at 8pm and 10pm ET Wednesday, respectively.