Perseid Meteor Shower: A Night Under the Stars

You don’t need to travel far to have an outdoor adventure. Get out the sleeping bags for a night under the stars in your own backyard. The Perseid meteor shower is the summer night sky’s most spectacular show which peaks between August 10th and August 12th as the earth moves through the dust and debris of trail of the Comet Swift-Tuttle. It is a dazzling display our family watched each summer as we pushed pause on our busy lives and turned our eyes to the heavens. The meteors are easy to spot, all you need are clear skies and your eyes. Look up!  There are shooting stars out there!

Tips and Tricks:

• Look toward the northeastern section of the sky, where the meteors originate from

• The Perseids are known for their colors and have more fireballs, or ultrabright meteors, than any other shower.

• Meteors can come from all directions, but they always travel from the constellation they are named after, in this case Perseus in the northeastern section of the sky.

• Check out a book on constellations from the library and pick out Orion and the Big Dipper while you are waiting.