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Thursday, August 11: Perseid Meteor Shower in
Boundary County skies tonight
(And in other skies across America . . . . ) |
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August 11, 2016 |
Tonight Boundary County may have the opportunity
to see one of the year's biggest meteor showers.
This is the time of year for the Perseid meteors
to show up. The Perseid meteor shower has been
going on for several evenings now, and will
actually continue for a few more, but tonight,
Thursday, August 11, is predicted to be one of
the peak nights.
In fact, some experts are predicting that this
year's Perseid shower may be especially active,
due to some of the effects of the planet
Jupiter.
If the night sky is clear, and the stars are out
and visible, and if you have a dark location
where there is not a lot of light to interfere
with seeing the night sky, then take a look at
the following viewing tips to see the Perseid
Meteor Shower:
• Meteors (which will appear as "shooting
stars") can be seen once the sky is dark. The
darkest sky and best viewing, however, will be
after the moon sets and the bright moonlight is
no longer illuminating the sky. But one can
still see shooting meteors even before the moon
sets. You just won't see them as being quite so
bright, and you likely won't see quite as many
as will be seen once the moon sets.
• The moon will set in the west at approximately
1:00 a.m., which will leave the sky dark. Once
the moon sets, shooting meteors will be seen to
be brighter and occurring more frequently across
the dark sky. Sorry it's so late!
• If you plan to stay up and watch the meteor
shower, then grab a blanket and maybe a
reclining lawn chair, find a dark location, and
start watching the stars.
• On a typical year, a person in a dark location
without a lot of light might see a shooting
meteor about once per minute on average.
• If we are in luck this year, with the experts
predicting a possible higher rate of Perseid
meteors in 2016, we might see shooting stars
even more frequently than once per minute.
• Don't forget your mosquito spray.
• If you don't make it out to see them tonight,
the Perseids will continue after dark for a few
more days. You'll have more chances, but each
night there will likely be fewer and fewer
visible meteors.
Enjoy one of Boundary County's lesser-known
treasures: dark skies without a bunch of city
lights, which allows beautiful star-filled clear
nights. Good luck with your Perseid meteor
spotting! |
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