what time is the meteor shower august 2010 2010 8 13

Every August, just when many people go vacationing in the country where skies are dark, the best-known meteor shower ������ the Perseid meteor shower ������ makes its appearance. The best time to watch for meteors will be from the late-night hours of Wednesday, Aug, 11 on through the predawn hours of Aug. 13 ������ two full nights and early mornings. [ History of the Perseids The event is also known as "The Tears of St. Lawrence." With each pass, Comet Swift-Tuttle produces a debris trail along its orbit to cause the Perseids. The best window of opportunity to see the shower will be the late-night hours of Wednesday on through the first light of dawn on the morning of Thursday, and then again during the late-night hours of Aug. 12 into the predawn hours of Aug. 13. What to expect A very good shower will produce about one meteor per minute for a given observer under a dark country sky. The August Perseids are among the strongest of the readily observed annual meteor showers, and at maximum activity nominally yields 90 or 100 meteors per hour. [Video: Perseid However, observers with exceptional skies often record even larger numbers. Typically during an overnight watch, the Perseids are capable of producing a number of bright, flaring and fragmenting meteors, which leave fine trains in their wake. On the night of shower maximum, the Perseid radiant is not far from the famous "Double Star Cluster" of Perseus (hence the name, "Perseid"). About five to 10 of the meteors seen in any given hour will not fit this geometric pattern, and may be classified as sporadic or as members of some other (minor) shower. From around 2 a.m. until daybreak your local time, the Perseids promise to put on a good display, weather permitting. Watching for the Perseids consists of lying back, gazing up into the stars, and waiting. Usually, good numbers of meteors should be seen on the preceding and following nights as well. As a bonus every evening now through he heart of the Perseid meteor shower, are tightly clustered just after sunset. what time is the meteor shower august 2010 2010 8 13 what time is the meteor shower august 2010 2010 8 13