We are in the dog days of summer, and the best meteor shower of the season belongs to the Perseids.
If you’ve been away from light pollution, either out in the country or camping overnight, you might have noticed a few meteors as the entire show began back on July 14th and runs through to September 1st.
Backyard Astronomer Gary Boyle says that while any time is a good time to look out into the night sky, this coming Monday (August 12th) is ideal as we will be entering the peak period of this cosmic show.
Boyle talked about how he and other astronomers are able to determine the height of a meteor shower and exactly what we are seeing.
While you’re looking up at the sky that night, you might also want to take a look around, as several planets will be visible during this time.
To get the best view of the planets, you do have to wait a few days for the 14th, but you’ll still be able to spot them in the sky on the 12th if you’re already outside watching the Perseid meteor shower.
As we finished up our chat, Boyle also provided us with an interesting cosmic fact about how the term “dog days of summer” came to be.
Written by M. LeBlanc
