AUSTIN (KXAN) — One of the best meteor showers of the year is just days away from its peak, where viewers can see up to 60 meteors per hour falling from the sky. Unfortunately, this year our view will be slightly obstructed due to our friendly neighbor: the moon.
Peaking the night between August 12 and August 13, the Perseids occurs as the Earth travels through a debris cloud left by the Comet Swift-Tuttle when it passed through our solar system in 1992.
However, a full moon will occur on August 9. This means the sky will be very bright and meteors will be hard to see. Days later, August 16, the moon will reach the third quarter phase, where the right half is dark. This means less light and a chance to see the tail end of shower’s peak.
The good news is we have the best view yet of a meteor in just three years. Experts believe that an extra dense cloud of dust left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle is in our path…