The Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend

If you can't wait for that eclipse coming up on August 21st, you can get your space fix this weekend as the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks.

According to Wikipedia, the meteor shower named for the location in the sky they appear (near Perseus), has been viewed by people for nearly 2,000 years.  The meteors are parts of the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Space.com says the best viewing of this year's shower will be at 1 PM on Saturday, August 12th.  Which means your best viewing will be late Friday night. or late Saturday night.  Your best bet is to be in a field (away from trees and houses) or on a hill.  And, you want to be looking North East.

Unfortunately, right now it looks like both Friday and Saturday night will be cloudy in Central Maine.  On the plus side, it's still a few days out, so the weather might change.

Here's some video of last night's (Wednesday) shower: