You can see the annual Perseid meteor shower live online as it nears its climax.
Peak Perseid meteor activity is anticipated between August 11 and 12. The Virtual Telescope Project is holding a live broadcast on August 9 before the moon reaches its brightest since witnessing the meteor shower’s peak on August 11 would be difficult due to the bright moonlight from August’s full Sturgeon Moon.
“Because of the full moon on the night of their peak, we will run this live feed two days earlier, so our satellite will be below the horizon, with still a very good number of meteors!” Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project wrote.
The Virtual Telescope Project’s live webcast on Aug. 9 will begin at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Aug. 10) and share any meteors captured by the telescopes’ wide-field cameras. You’ll also be able to watch on Space.com, courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project.
The Perseids meteor shower is active every year from mid-July to late August, when Earth passes through the debris remnants, or bits of ice and rock, left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids peak as Earth passes through the densest and dustiest area of the comet’s trail.
Most years, under clear skies and low light pollution, Perseid viewers can expect to see between 50 and 100 visible meteors, or “shooting stars,” per hour at the shower’s peak.
However, the bright light from the August full moon, which is also a supermoon (since the full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its orbit), will make it difficult to see many meteors. This year, viewers should expect the average number of visible meteors to linger between 10 and 20 per hour at best during its peak, according to a statement(opens in new tab) from NASA astronomer Bill Cooke.
Therefore, the best time to look for Perseids this year is in the pre-dawn hours when the moon is below the horizon, a few days before the peak. If you aren’t able to go outside and enjoy the annual meteor shower, be sure to catch the Virtual Telescope Project’s live webcast on Aug. 9, when the moon is expected to set about 60 minutes before dawn, offering a short window of dark skies to observe more meteors.
