Perseid Meteor Shower To Peak, Outburst Possible
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Perseid meteor shower takes place every August and will be peaking this Thursday night into Friday morning. This year's meteor shower is different because and outburst is possible, which means double the amount of meteors during the peak.
Normally, the Earth grazes the debris zone from Comet Swift-Tuttle. This year, Jupiter's gravitational pull will push the debris zone closer to Earth, causing an outburst. This outburst is expected to produce more than 200 meteors/hour compared to the normal 100 meteors/hour.
The best time to view the peak of the shower will be midnight-5:00 a.m. Friday morning. Light from the quarter Moon could inhibit viewing until it sets around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning. Also, clouds make a return to the forecast over the next several nights making viewing difficult in some areas.
If you do plan to go out and view, give yourself plenty of time and be patient, since your eyes can take 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness. If you can't make it out Thursday night, check out the Perseids tonight and tomorrow night as they build up to the peak.