{"id":18405,"date":"2018-08-10T19:54:46","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T11:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/the-stars-align-for-a-near-perfect-perseid-meteor-shower-heres-how-to-catch-it\/"},"modified":"2018-08-10T19:54:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T11:54:46","slug":"the-stars-align-for-a-near-perfect-perseid-meteor-shower-heres-how-to-catch-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/the-stars-align-for-a-near-perfect-perseid-meteor-shower-heres-how-to-catch-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The stars align for a near-perfect Perseid meteor shower: Here\u2019s how to catch it"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_267449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-267449\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-267449\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160812_Mt_Rainier_2082-630x421.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160812_Mt_Rainier_2082-630x421.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160812_Mt_Rainier_2082-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160812_Mt_Rainier_2082-1240x828.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160812_Mt_Rainier_2082.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-267449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Perseid meteor flashes above Mount Rainier in 2016. (GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The outlook for this year\u2019s Perseid meteor shower is checking all the boxes. Up to a meteor a minute? Check. Moonless sky? Check. Peaking during the weekend? Check. Clear weather? That even looks like a check mark for Sunday night in Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>Only two clouds hang over what\u2019s traditionally the year\u2019s most watched meteor display. One is literal clouds: The skies won\u2019t always be totally clear for this weekend\u2019s peak, although the National Weather Service shows the cloud cover forecast improving as the weekend wears on. There\u2019s also the smoke from Western wildfires to contend with.<\/p>\n<p>The other cloud has to do with expectations: Yes, the Perseids can produce a meteor per minute, but that\u2019s at the very peak of the shower, under peak conditions. So don\u2019t be disappointed if your meteor mileage varies.<\/p>\n<p>Every year, the Perseid meteor flux reaches its peak on the nights of Aug. 11-12 and Aug. 12-13 because that\u2019s when Earth plunges through the thickest trail of cosmic grit left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle in its solar system rounds.<\/p>\n<p>The meteor shower gets its name from the fact that the shooting stars appear to emanate from a point in the constellation Perseus. That\u2019s due to the perspective we have on the trail of cosmic hail.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"What's Up for August 2018\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kBiIV97wA2w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Right now the moon is just past its new phase, which means there won\u2019t be any lunar glare spoiling the show during each night\u2019s peak hours, from midnight to dawn.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few tips to maximize your viewing experience:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a place that\u2019s far away from the glare of city lights, with a minimum of trees and buildings blocking your view.<\/li>\n<li>Bring a lounge chair, blanket or sleeping bag and find a comfortable position for looking up into the night sky. Looking north is usually the best strategy, but meteors can appear anywhere in the heavens.<\/li>\n<li>Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the dark, and don\u2019t expect to see fireworks. Don\u2019t gaze into the glare of your smartphone if you can help it. Bring a flashlight so you can walk safely to your viewing spot, but be mindful of others.<\/li>\n<li>Consider taking along snacks and a thermos of coffee or some other energizing beverage to keep you alert during the pre-dawn hours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We have a list of top five places in the Seattle area for night-sky viewing, from West Seattle\u2019s Alki Beach and Hamilton Viewpoint Park to Mount Rainier. The Seattle Astronomical Society is planning a trailhead star party on Saturday night at one of our favorite spots, the Rattlesnake Mountain trailhead. One caveat: Expect to park along the side of the blacktop, and be prepared to hike up the road to get to where the action is. Oh, and try not to step on anybody in the dark.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1tZFNCTvS8QAnbwCGDAuA9T6uEP4\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Farther afield, the Table Mountain Star Party is in full swing near Oroville, Wash., as is the Mount Kobau Star Party near Osoyoos in British Columbia and the Oregon Star Party near Prineville in Central Oregon. All three of those star parties charge registration fees. There\u2019s also a Hurricane Ridge star party in Olympic National Park on Saturday night, presented by the Olympic Astronomical Society.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re stuck behind a computer this weekend, you can still get a taste of the meteor-watching experience by tuning in Slooh\u2019s hosted webcast, starting at 2 p.m. PT Sunday and going into the evening. Weather permitting, NASA will provide a live webcast of the Perseids&nbsp;from its all-sky camera in Huntsville, Ala., via the NASA Meteor Watch Facebook page starting at 6 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n<p>The meteors aren\u2019t the only game in town&nbsp;\u2014 or more accurately, out of town and in the night sky. Mars is still shining near its brightest in a moon-free sky, Venus is twinkling as an evening star, Jupiter can be seen in the southwest at evening twilight, and Saturn glows yellow in the south at nightfall. Sky &amp; Telescope\u2019s viewing guide lays it all out for you.<\/p>\n<p>One thing you won\u2019t see in the night sky, at least from the Seattle area, is the International Space Station. Its orbital trajectory just isn\u2019t timed right to reflect the sun\u2019s rays at the right time over the next couple of weeks. But bookmark NASA\u2019s \u201cSpot the Station\u201d website to keep track of future opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of future opportunities, the next meteor shower worthy of note will be the Draconids, which reach their peak Oct. 7-8 on another moonless night. Check out EarthSky.org for a preview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Perseid meteor flashes above Mount Rainier in 2016. (GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota) The outlook for this year\u2019s Perseid meteor shower is checking all the boxes. Up to a meteor a minute? Check. Moonless sky? Check. Peaking during the weekend? Check. Clear weather? That even looks like a check mark for Sunday night in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4919,4599,4732,4378],"class_list":["post-18405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-meteor-showers","tag-meteors","tag-perseids","tag-skywatching"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}