Perseid Meteors with a Cosmic Coincidence! Aug 12-13, 2011

Space Weather News for Aug 12, 2011

METEOR SHOWER: The Perseid meteor shower is underway. International observers are now reporting more than 20 meteors per hour as Earth passes through a stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on the night of Aug 12-13. The best time to look is during the hours before dawn on Saturday morning, August 13th, when the glaring Moon is relatively low and meteor rates are highest.

Visit Space Weather News for full coverage.

WATCH OUT FOR THE SPACE STATION, TOO: Consider it a cosmic coincidence. During the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, the International Space Station will fly over many US towns and cities.

The behemoth spacecraft is easy to see if you know when to look. Check SpaceWeather.com's Simple Satellite Tracker for flyby times. #

Plus, you may wish to check out a little Astrology on Perseus the Prince, the archetype of the constellation associated with the annual Perseid meteor shower.

And there's another post that concerns Perseus and the stars linked to the natal chart of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange.

Or how about a smidgeon of Cosmic Art titled Comet Skies?

Image imported from my Secret Moon Art collection of drawings. jc

Perseids + Aug 1 Solar Eclipse photos

Space Weather News for August 5, 2008

COUNTDOWN TO THE PERSEIDS: The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks one week from today, on Tuesday, August 12th. The best time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday morning when forecasters expect 50 to 100 meteors per hour. Get away from city lights if you can; plan a camping trip! The darker the sky, the more meteors you will see.

The source of the Perseids is Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has littered the August portion of Earth's orbit with space dust. The dusty zone is broad and Earth is already in its outskirts. As a result, even before the peak on August 12th, you may see some "early Perseids" streaking across the night sky.

Photos of these early arrivals will be featured in the days ahead on SpaceWeather.com as part of our full coverage of the Perseid meteor shower.

BONUS: Last Friday's total solar eclipse is history, but new pictures continue to appear in our photo gallery. Start browsing our Eclipse photo gallery!