Best Viewing for Perseid Meteor Shower 2011: Where and When to Look at the Night Sky

Composite Perseids view on the night of Aug. 11, 2010, combined from 39 single station events over Chickamauga, Ga. (NASA/MSFC/D. Moser, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office)

For those who enjoy a little star gazing and a view of shooting stars, the next few nights should be a lot of fun. The annual Perseid meteor shower has begun and will reach its peak intensity Saturday night.

At its peak, viewers of the Perseid shower should be able to see a meteor entering burning across the sky about once every couple of minutes. The rate of 20 to 30 per hour, however will be a little washed out by the moon this year. Unfortunately there will be a full moon at the same time as the peak intensity of the meteor shower.

Some of the best viewing should be in the early morning a few hours before dawn. Therefore, those not able to stay up all night would be best off by getting up really early Sunday morning to watch the Perseid at its peak.

According to NASA, the annual Perseid meteor shower is the result of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. The comet has an orbit around the Sun of 133 years, but its debris trail remains in orbit from its previous and most recent passes. As the Earth orbits the sun we pass through the ice and dirt debris particles which burn brightly in our atmosphere, commonly referred to as “shooting-stars.”

While the Perseids can be seen in various parts of the sky, most of the meteors appear to come from the part of the sky which includes the constellation Perseus, which is where the annual celestial event gets its name. For best viewing however, experts recommend that you go outside some time after 10PM in your local area, lie on you back and just watch the sky directly above. The frequency of the meteors should increase as the dawn approaches and the moon is lower in the sky.