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Perseid Meteor Shower

The best meteor shower of 2013 peaks Sunday & Monday nights – Get your binoculars ready!
By - posted 8/8/2013 No Comment

If NASA says it’s the biggest meteor shower of the year, you better stay up late and grab your binoculars!

The annual Perseid meteor shower is the glittery result of Earth’s passage through a steam of debris left behind by a comet, so you should expect to see meteor rates as high as 100 per hour  – as long as you are away from light pollution and the clouds stay away.

Perseid Meteor Shower | 2013 Peak
Late Late Sunday night 8/11/13
Late Late Monday night 8/12/13
– Midnight to dawn

The Perseid Meteor Shower is usually one of the best and brightest displays inthe Northern Hemisphere and in 2013, the best night to look up and marvel at around 50 meteors per hour the early early mornings of August 12th and 13th when they combine with the Delta Aquarid shower to produce the year’s most dazzling display of shooting stars. >> Read more at earthsky.org

Viewing Tips
1) Get away from bright lights and go to a high elevation
2) Give yourself at least 15 minutes in darkness to allow your eyes to adjust
3) The best viewing begins after midnight with better viewing after the moon wanes and tends to hit its peak right before dawn 

Best places to watch in the Bay Area for 2013:

  • San Francisco – Unfortunately the city is not the perfect place because of the light pollution – get as far away from city lights as possible and make sure to give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness. Best bets are Lands End or Twin Peaks – assuming there’s no cloud cover.
  • San Jose – Meteor Shower Viewing Party – Friday night, August 10 at Calero Resevoir from 8:30p to 11:30p.
  • Gilroy – Coyote Lake Viewing Party – Late Monday night, early Tuesday Morning (August 13 at 2am)