Today:
Our evening skies will be dark, inviting a fist look for the Perseid Meteor Shower, which extends from tonight through the 14th, peaking on the night if the 12th into the 13th. You might see some “non”-Perseid meteors as well, thanks to the tail end of a separate, longer-lasting meteor shower from late July, the not-so-famous Delta Aquariid meteors.
Saturday:
The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks every year near August 12th, as the Earth passes through the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle, with thousands of tiny pieces of dust and rock that burn up in our atmosphere 40 to 70 miles above us. After a few years of interference, the Moon shrinks to a slender Crescent, offering dark, favorable skies.
Sunday:
The Perseid Meteor Shower continues this evening, though past its peak. Even so, it is thrilling to see even a few “shooting stars” etch their path through the stars. Meteors are almost always favored after midnight, because ou spinning Earth turns into the direction we are orbiting. This increases the number of particles we run into along our orbit.