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2016 Perseids
by Aaron Turner - Sunday, 7 August 2016, 11:38 PM
 

This year's Perseid meteor shower is upon us.  The peak for this shower will be this coming Thursday night (August 11-12).  Due to the interaction of the stream of dust from the comet Swift-Tuttle with the planet Jupiter, the stream has been shifted slightly, and Earth is expected to pass closer to the middle of the stream this year than in typical years.  That means the hourly rate will be increased from the usual estimate of 40-60 per hour to 120-200 per hour.  Assuming this prediction holds, this year should be quite a show.

The Moon will be one day past first quarter, which means it will set just after midnight; however, with it low toward the horizon in the late evening, its brightness will only slightly affect visibility of the meteors.

As for the forecast, that's more of a question.  Looks like a typical August week this week - high temperatures, high humidity, afternoon or evening thunderstorms.  We were lucky last night (I was observing with a local church group) to have a severe thunderstorm wave followed by very clear skies, but then toward 11pm fog rolled in, clearing only after midnight.  We may or may not be that lucky Thursday night, but it is worth taking a look in the late evening.

As with most meteor showers, the real peak will be in the early morning hours, 3-4am.  But, if the predictions are correct and the sky is clear, this could be a very memorable event.