Perseid meteor shower peaks Tuesday morning

If you want to see this year's Perseid meteor shower, you may want to get to bed early Monday night, and wake up early -- very early -- Tuesday morning. Specifically, you'll want to head outside around 2:00 AM local time, or shortly thereafter, and look up. Wherever you are, the shower's peak will happen between around 2:00 AM (which is approximately when the moon sets) and dawn.

According to NASA, there should be "plenty of meteors -- perhaps one or two every minute." That's assuming you're in a dark-sky location; the closer you are to bright city lights, the fewer meteors will be visible. Becky and I are tentatively planning to head out to a dark spot on the edge of the Smokies and check out the action. It'll be Loyette's first middle-of-the-night astronomy adventure. Probably of many. :)

If you're not willing to brave the wee hours of the morning, but you'd still like to see a meteor or two, try hunting for "earthgrazers" Monday evening:

[A]round 9 pm [local time,] when Perseus first rises in the northeast...is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says [NASA's Bill] Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

Also, Jupiter and the Moon will make a striking pair in the southern sky Monday night.