Today:
A low, level view to the southwest shows a thin Crescent Moon making its last visible monthly visit to the pale blue star Spica for a few months, until early birds see it in November and December. Spica is one of four bright stars the Moon tracks near each month, but the timing, and the Moon’s phase changes as the Earth’s orbit changes our viewing location.
Saturday:
Our evening skies will be dark, inviting a first 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.
Sunday:
The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks every year near August 11th and 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. The First Quarter Moon set this evening before midnight, offering dark, favorable skies, as they peak in the pre-dawn hours.