WASHINGTON: Dark skies due to a nearly invisible moon on Wednesday made this year’s Perseid meteor shower an especially star-studded event, astronomers said.
Astronomers said the lack of moonlight helped people see more of the oldest meteor shower known to Earth, the Perseids.
NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke said the annual show will also peak around 3 a.m. local time Thursday. Cooke said if the weather is good, expect one shooting star a minute, maybe more.
Weather Underground meteorology director Jeff Masters said the skies will be clear for an unusually large section of the US.
The sky show is pieces of Comet Swift-Tuttle hitting Earth’s atmosphere at more than 133,000 mph and burning up. The best way to watch: Lie down and look up — no telescopes needed.
Perseid show to continue today
Perseid show to continue today
