It is almost that time again! The Perseid meteor shower is an annual sky-watching must-see for many people. The peak viewing opportunity for the 2019 Perseid meteor shower will be on the night of August 12-13.
2019 Perseid Meteor Shower
Viewing quality varies from year to year depending on variables like cloud cover and the moon. Unfortunately, the moon will be nearly full during the peak of the 2019 Perseid meteor shower. The moonlight will wash out some of the meteors, but brighter meteors will still be visible.
As an added bonus, both Saturn and Mars should be visible during the. 2019 Perseid meteor shower on August 12-13. Jupiter and Venus will be visible in the sky earlier in the evening.
The good news for those who cannot watch from a dark location on August 12 is that meteor showers should be visible before and after the peak viewing date as well. The earth will be passing through Comet Swift-Tuttle’s path between July 17 and August 24 so meteors will still be visible both before and after August 12-13.
Planning for the 2019 Perseid meteor shower includes making preparations to be in a dark area with an expansive view of the night sky. In other words, try to escape the city and position yourself in an area with as little light pollution as possible.
We were thrilled to watch the peak of the 2018 Perseid meteor shower from a dark location in Medicine Bow National Forest in southern Wyoming. A video showing the Perseid meteor shower last year is available on our YouTube channel (see below). This year we will be in Gillette hosting a summer meetup on August 12, but plan to watch as many nights as possible of the 2019 Perseid meteor shower before and after the 12th.
Space.com has a detailed guide to viewing the 2019 Persied meteor shower if you would like to learn more.
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