ST. LOUIS (KTVI) — Astronomers say the Perseid meteor shower is now underway and is about one week from its mid-August peak.
Considered the best meteor shower of the year, you can see up to 50 meteors per hour,according to NASA, and sometimes even more if conditions are right. The fast and bright meteors often leave long wakes of light behind them as they streak through the atmosphere, making them easy to see even for the casual astronomer.
Will Snyder, manager of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center explained, “Comets are those cosmic litterers of the solar system. They leave behind little bits of dust and rock and debris,” explained “As the Earth goes through that same place in space, those little particles get super-heated in the atmosphere and can create those brilliant streaks of light we see overhead.”
Astronomy pros say the Perseids in the Northern Hemisphere, are best viewed during the pre-dawn hours, though at times, it is possible to see some as early as 10 p.m.
The expected Perseids peak is expected to peak Tuesday night into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday. Also, you can still just make out Comet NEOWISE in the southwest sky after sunset, but it is fading fast.
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