Oak Hill, WV (WOAY-TV): The Supermoon lit up the night sky last week and there’s another one coming down the pike at the end of the month. Don’t despair though…. There’s a lot happening in the night sky between now and then.
Mark August 13 on your calendar folks…. That’s the night the Perseid Meteor shower peaks. The best show of meteors will occur just before daybreak on August 13.
You know what really makes this year’s Perseid’s special? We will only have a faint, slim waning crescent Moon when the shower is at its best late August 12 into early August 13. The moon’s light will NOT overpower the meteor shower!
You don’t even need binoculars or a telescope folks…just sit outside your back yard or away from neighborhood lights with a clear view of the entire night sky and watch the shooting stars zip by!
Our forecast for the Perseids show the best viewing weather will be after Midnight or early on August 13.
This meteor shower happens every year in mid August. The Earth’s orbit around the Sun creates a collision with a cloud of small debris left behind by a comet. The comet debris heats up in the Earth’s atmosphere and creates shooting stars. This particular meteor shower is called the Perseid’s because the shooting stars appear to have originated the direction in the sky where the constellation Perseus is located.
