Annual Perseid Meteor Showers 8/11-13pm

[Grasshopper]

from SkyandTelescope.com:

"August 12–13: The Perseids

The Perseid shower is a popular display because it offers up to 60 an hour under a summer sky. Showtime usually begins as soon as the radiant (near the Double Cluster in Perseus) clears the horizon, an hour or so before midnight. But not long afterward you'll have competition from a last-quarter Moon. The Perseids' parent comet is 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
This year's standard Perseid peak is predicted to come around 18h Universal Time (2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) on August 12th. That's good timing for the Far East, but for North America it splits the difference between the nights of August 11-12 and 12-13. Flip a coin — or watch the evening weather forecast — to decide which night to watch for them. The shower is also active to a lesser degree for many days beforehand and several days afterward.
The waning Moon is nearly at last quarter those two nights. It rises an hour or two after dark and will brighten the sky somewhat during the best Perseid-activity hours, from 11 p.m. until dawn. Nevertheless, this is a pretty reliable shower, and some Perseids should be there for the catching.
Lie back in a lounge chair and watch whatever part of your sky is darkest. Be patient. You may see a meteor zipping into the upper atmosphere every few minutes on average."

[Dschur]

The only problem with this is that the clouds are moving back into the sky now and will make it hard to see but still sometimes the really bright ones will be seen thru the clouds. The really best time is just before sunrise when we are just right in the path and the right angle. The average background meteors are about 5 per hour. If coming from the radiant then they are a Perseus meteor.....

[azbackpackr]

The only problem is staying up late. I hate that part! Maybe I'll look at them at 3 a.m. or so when I get up!

[JimmyLyding]

Too many clouds here @ my part of Phoenix. Bummer.

[azbackpackr]

I went outside at 2 a.m., there were stars, I waited 5 minutes, saw no meteors. I'll check it out again in a little while.

One time a few years ago we did make a point of taking chairs and sleeping bags and cocoa out US 60 toward Socorro, where there are absolutely no lights anywhere nearby, and watched it for awhile. Truthfully, I had expected "showers" of meteors, but it isn't like that. One or two a minute. The rest of the time you are sitting there craning your neck. Once in awhile there would be a really big one--that was pretty neat.

[azbackpackr]

Hubby saw a HUGE one when he couldn't sleep last night and stepped outside.

[joebartels]

The Perseid meteor shower runs from July 14 through September 1, 2024, and its peak will be on the night of Sunday, August 11, through Monday, August 12.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecarte ... -its-best/

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