Perseid Meteor Shower Is This Weekend

The Perseid Meteor shower is about to rain down. Earthlings should get quite a light show this weekend, if the skies are clear, according to Astronomy.com.

The showers will occur on Saturday and Sunday, when the moon is in its waning crescent phase. The moonlight won't interfere with your view of the dashing meteors.

You don't even need a telescope. Just spread out a blanket, maybe a late-night picnic, lie back and enjoy!  

Perseid Meteor Trivia:

• These meteors travel 37 miles per second!
• The best time to view will be 2 a.m. on Aug. 12.
• The weather in Sarasota so far, is predicted to be partly cloudy with a chance of storms throught the weekend, but it's not clear when the storms will pass through.
• The Perseid Meteors are cast-offs of the Swift-Tuttle comet, according to Space.com.
• The shower began on July 23 and will peak the night of Aug. 11-12. 
• Look toward the Perseus constellation, which forms an inverted "Y" shape and is in the northeast.
• Some of the meteoroids are as small as a grain of sand, but they have the kinetic energy of a nuclear bomb!
• If you see a very slow, bright object sailing across the sky, it's either a satellite or a Space Station.   

Where to view:

• You don't need a telescope to view this celestial event, so just head out to a dark spot.  
• Away from city lights, so the further you get from town, the better your view will be.