Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to be at its best this year, producing one or two meteors per minute during peak hours. "It's going to be a great show," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. According to the best estimates the Earth is predicted to cut through the densest part of the Perseid stream sometime around 2 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 13. That corresponds to 11 p.m. PT on Aug. 12 for those living in the Western United States or Canada. The interval when the meteors will be falling at their highest rates will likely last several hours or more on either side of these times. As a result, it is the late-night hours Sunday, on through the first light of dawn Monday that holds the greatest promise of seeing a very fine Perseid display. The moon, whose bright light almost totally wrecked last year's shower, will have zero impact this year. The moon will be new on Sunday, meaning that there will be no interference from it at all. So get out there late tonight or before dawn tomorrow morning. It will be worth it.

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