Up To 100 Perseid Meteors Per Hour This Weekend

Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas meteor skywatchers, there are two things we can always count on, the August heat and the Perseid Meteor Shower. One isn't too bad right now, the other is peaking this weekend.

The annual Perseid meteor shower is happening right now and the weekend weather looks good for pretty clear skies Sunday night into Monday morning, so we should be able to get a good view of a great meteor shower.

The lunar phase Sunday night is 41% showing, or a "Waxing Cresent Moon," the good news this year is it will set around midnight, which will give us a darker sky and more opportunity to see more meteors in the early morning hours. The best time to watch is anytime after moonset on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning.

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This Should Be A Good One

The Perseid meteor shower should produce around 100 meteors per hour Sunday night during it's peak. The Perseid shower is named that because the meteors appear to emanate from the Perseus Constellation. What's really happening is our big blue planet is flying through the debris field of comet Swift-Tuttle.

Best Viewing In Review:

Sit back facing a northeasterly direction then gaze almost straight up.
You should be in an area that has the least light pollution if possible, the further away from city lights the better.
Give your eyes time to adjust, they can take up to 30 minutes to fully adjust to the darkness so you should plan on at least an hour's worth of meteor shower watching to get a good show.
Put down your phone. Seriously, one thing you have to avoid during this time is light shining into your eyes, which would include looking at your phone. Gazing at the bright screen on your phone or tablet will cause your eyes to have to re-adjust to the darkness. Which is frustrating.

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Remember, it's ok to unplug for an hour and just kick back and watch the stars.

If you would like to learn more about the Perseid Meteor Shower for 2024, check out the article on Space.com.

Happy stargazing!