Friday, August 7, 7:00pm 

View recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DRhunvnMVGc

About AstroNights:

Join us at 7:00pm on select Fridays for a half-hour presentation exploring everyone’s favorite astronomy topics. From the colorful characters in our own solar system to the weird and wonderful things far beyond, each program is sure to contain something of interest to armchair astronomers of all ages. This week we’ll be find out how and when to spot the Perseid meteor shower (usually one of the best of the year) in your sky, and why meteor showers happen in the first place.

Click here for more information about past AstroNights events, including how to access recordings.

Resources

The links below include resources mentioned during the program, suggested follow-up activities, and more!.

Perseid Meteor Shower Live Stream - On August 11 tune in to view the the sky live from the Lowell Observatory. (9PM AZ/12:00AM Eastern)

EarthSky This site has a good description of the Perseids in general and this year’s display in particular.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The Perseids this year.

Timeanddate.com You can customize this interactive site for your location and the time you’re viewing. (Make sure you put the correct date in the upper right corner; the shower’s peak is Aug. 11-12).

Sky and Telescope What’s the best way to watch the Perseids? What’s the history of this shower, and how does it compare to others this year? And here’s a challenge: Can you photograph the shower? If you get some good images, please send them in!

NASA’’s “Watch the Skies” blog has a 3-minute video discussing sky events in August.