Perseid meteor shower
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Started by metmike - Aug. 12, 2021, 12:17 a.m.

Perseid meteor shower of 2021, likely the best of the year, is peaking now!

https://www.space.com/perseid-meteor-shower-2021-peak

A 30-second exposure view of the 2021 Perseids from Spruce Knob, West Virginia, taken on Aug. 11, 2021..

A 30-second exposure view of the 2021 Perseids from Spruce Knob, West Virginia, taken on Aug. 11, 2021..(Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The stunning Perseid meteor shower will peak tonight (Aug. 11) in what could well be the most brilliant "shooting star" display of the year.

The Perseids are often one of the strongest meteor showers, and this year, the display will be particularly easy to observe, as the moon is just a few days past its new phase, keeping tonight's sky quite dark.

Webcasts: Perseid meteor shower 2021: How to watch it live tonight

Skywatchers began catching early Perseids in late July, and the meteor shower will continue until Aug. 18, but the peak of this meteor shower is well worth catching. Forecasts from Space.com and Sky & Telescope suggest that skywatchers who get themselves someplace dark enough could catch dozens of shooting stars each hour — perhaps one a minute — during the shower's peak, which continues into Thursday morning.


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By metmike - Aug. 12, 2021, 12:19 a.m.
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https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html

The bright Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year, and they've just begun! With clear skies, you could see what some consider the most spectacular cosmic light show. 

Spectators can expect to see the greatest number of meteors during the shower's peak between Aug. 11-13 this year, according to Earthsky.org.

Every year, Earth passes through the path of Comet Swift-Tuttle from July 17 to Aug. 24, with the shower's peak — when Earth passes through the densest, dustiest area — occurring Aug. 11-13. That means you'll see the most meteors in the shortest amount of time near that time. Years without moonlight see higher rates of meteors per hour, and in outburst years (such as in 2016) the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour. 

This year, you can expect to see up to 60 meteors per hour at the shower's peak, according to Earthsky.org. 

Webcasts: Perseid meteor shower 2021: How to watch it live tonight