The night sky is something we really overlook around here. We’re lucky enough to have close parks and forests with very little light pollution. On a dark, new moon night, there are some amazing things you can see just by looking up.
One yearly phenenomenon that is racing towards us is the Perseid meteor shower.
From SPACE.com:
According to the best estimates, in 2010 the Earth is predicted to cut through the densest part of the Perseid stream sometime around 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday.
The best window of opportunity to see the shower will be the late-night hours of Wednesday on through the first light of dawn on the morning of Thursday, and then again during the late-night hours of Aug. 12 into the predawn hours of Aug. 13.
The Moon, whose bright light almost totally wrecked last year’s shower, will have zero impact this year; unlike last year when it was just a few days past full, this year it will be new on Monday, Aug. 9, meaning that there will be absolutely no interference from it at all.