Last year, during the annual Perseid meteor shower, the moon in the cloudless skies was at the start of a bright crescent phase and outshone the meteor shower every night. Now it’s time again for the Perseids to dazzle us and this year the shower comes a few days prior to the moon’s first quarter. In addition, the moon will be setting early in the evening, allowing a dark, moonless night stage for the meteors to dance upon. You can observe the shower with no equipment, not even a telescope or binoculars. Find an area that is dark, away from streetlights and stores. Best would be away from any buildings or mountains. Find a dark open sky. The meteors may streak through the sky from any direction, at any angle. They are pretty much unpredictable. But once you see one, you see more. Maybe many more. The shower should spray 20 to 30 meteors every hour starting around 4 am on the mornings of August 11th through the 13th. Read more http://www.sdentertainer.com/event/its-coming-on-aug-11-the-perseid-meteor-shower/ [video=youtube;_zLVdE6ElHE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_zLVdE6ElHE[/video]
