For sky gazers in the Northern Hemisphere, an excellent opportunity is coming your way this weekend to see a fantastic light show in the sky by way of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
According to a report from YubaNet.com, NASA has been gathering data on "fireball" activity over the past several years that points to this year's Perseid meteor shower as the "fireball champion" of annual meteor showers.
"We have found that one meteor shower produces more fireballs than any other," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
And that would be the 2013 Perseid meteor shower. A fireball is a very bright meteor, comparable in brightness to Venus or Jupiter. While fireballs occur somewhat often in Earth's upper atmosphere, they multiply when Earth is passing through the debris stream of a comet.
In August, when Earth passes through the cloud of dust left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseid shower will result in a great number of fireballs, and a great show in the sky, visible to the naked eye from many points on Earth.
The reason that the Perseid meteor shower will offer such a great sky show is because the moon will set before midnight on peak viewing nights, which are slated between Aug. 11 and 13. The actual peak of this year's shower will occur beginning on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 11 and will go into the early hours of Monday, Aug. 12. With the moon setting early, skies will be darker, which will offer sky gazers a better chance to view the meteors.
To best see the Perseid show, Examiner.com suggests getting away from urban lights and going into more rural areas. Telescopes and binoculars will obscure your view, so it's best to leave them at home. Once you've settled into a spot, face half-way up toward the northeastern portion of the sky and try to locate the constellation Perseus, as that's the general direction the meteor shower will be in ... and have patience.
According to a report from Huffington Post, Cooke recommends viewers go outside to look up at the sky for at least a half hour before viewing time to give their eyes a chance to acclimate to the dark.
"My experience is that most people who are disappointed viewing meteors go out for only a few minutes expecting to see something: this will only work for major outbursts not normal meteor showers," Cooke told reporters. "So be prepared to spend at least a couple of hours outside; don't expect to see many before midnight."
SpaceDex.com offers a viewing guide for all 50 states in the U.S. as well as in other countries, along with an ideal time schedule for the light show. For those that aren't able to view the Perseids from where they live, NASA is streaming the event live on the peak nights of Aug. 11 to 12.
An added bonus to this weekend is that on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 10-11, the night before the Perseids peak, NASA will host a live web chat with Cooke and other astronomy experts from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. During the chat Cooke and his team will discuss the meteor showers and answer questions from curious viewers.