Perseid Meteor Shower

Question

I will be in Iowa on August 13-17, will I be able to see the meteors there just as good as in CA? I know there will be much less ambient city lighting there, so hopefully I will get a show.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I'm part of the Iowa City Astronomy Club (icastronomy.org). So long as there aren't too many clouds, the Perseids will be visible at their peak time, on August 12th after midnight. It looks like you'll be in Iowa just after their peak, since they're actually visible from mid-July through mid-August.

Still, just dress in layers, find a place away from city lights, and lie back.

By the way, if you do manage to be near Iowa City any earlier, there will be a meeting at the Iowa City public library on Monday, August 11th, 7 PM. We'll likely plan a Perseid shower viewing for the next night, and we always have binoculars and telescopes for anyone to use.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I live in DC and according to the scientists, we will be able to see it as well as CA. So, I'm sure if you're anywhere in the middle and in a dark, secluded area away from city lights, you'll see a good show!

Answer 3

Meteor showers are not local events, they can usually be seen over most of the planet. The best way to see meteor showers is to be far from any big city and bright lights (like you would find near a shopping mall or ball field).  The darker the sky the better.

The Perseids are visible between mid-July to mid-August, with the peak this year on August 12 (the rate during the peak can be as much as 60 or more per hour). They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of the comet Swift-Tuttle (which is the originating comet for this shower), Perseids are mostly visible in the northern hemisphere.

The Perseids have a broad peak, so the shower is visible for several nights. On any given night, activity starts slowly in the evening but picks up by 11 p.m., when the radiant gets reasonably high in the sky. The meteor rate increases steadily through the night as the radiant rises higher, peaking just before the sky starts to get light, about 1 to 2 hours before sunrise.

All we can hope for is clear skies (with the weather the way its been this summer, that could be a challenge).