The International Meteor Organization has forecast peak of the Perseids
meteor shower to occur Wednesday night/Thursday morning, August 12/13,
between 2:30am and 5:30 am. This is a great opportunity for viewing
one of the best showers of the year, the Moon is not an issue, clear skies
are forecast, and the peak occurs during the night (for us on the east coast).
It is rare for all these factors to be favorably concurrent. Meteor rates are
typically between 60-120/hour, with a good number of bright meteors.
Historically, there are a good number of fireballs, with some bright enough
to cast shadows (unfortunately, if you do see your shadow, that means you
were looking the wrong way).
The best rates are seen after midnight, as the earth is then “running into”
the meteors (it is like driving a car, you collect more bugs on the front windshield
than the rear). The shower’s radiant rises after midnight and is high in the sky
at dawn. It is best to plan to observe this shower late, rather than early.
The shower’s radiant is near the Double Cluster on the Perseus/Cassiopeia
boundary. The best numbers can be seen when looking 15-45 degrees
around the radiant. Meteors seen near the radiant appear shorter as they
are approaching nearly “head-on”.
Here is the IMO’s page on this year’s Perseid shower:
http://imo.net/node/1630
This website has any information you might need to observe this shower.
The peak of this shower is fairly broad, meaning that decent numbers
can be observed on the nights around the peak, so you may be able to
see 40-50/hour on Thursday night as well (Tuesday has a poor forecast).
David Morgan
FAS President