Part of what makes seeing a shooting star an out-of-the-ordinary experience is its simplicity. You don’t need fancy telescope equipment — just a lot of patience and maybe a blanket to lie on.
You can see some shooting stars this summer created by the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Earth began passing through its trail of debris this month. The bits and pieces of debris collide with our atmosphere creating fiery streaks in the sky known as the Perseids meteor shower.
Our planet will finish passing through the debris in late August. But before it disappears, you'll have an opportunity to see the best meteor shower of the year.
Peak gazing time
NASA estimates that about 50 to 100 meteors can be seen per hour as the Earth passes through the dusty trail left behind by the comet.
Lara Eakins, senior program coordinator at the Department of Astronomy at UT Austin, said the peak is estimated to occur between the night of Aug. 11 and the morning of Aug. 12. That's when Earth will pass through the dustiest, dirtiest part of the trail. This means multiple meteors are hitting the atmosphere, making way for plenty of shooting stars and fireballs from our viewpoint on Earth.
The moon can dim your ability to see shooting stars, so it's better to look up when the moon has disappeared. Because the moon will be in a waxing phase at this point of the month, it'll set at midnight.
“That means it'll actually be below the horizon once we're more turned into the stream of the meteors,” Eakins said.
NASA says it'll be the best meteor shower of the year in part because it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, so not as cold for people out stargazing at 1 a.m.
Can we see it in San Antonio?
The short answer is yes. Maybe.
Eakins said the best views are in northern states, but the meteor shower will still be visible from Texas. She advises avoiding light pollution — that means getting away from San Antonio city lights — and facing north.
“There’s not a big barrier to entry for people who are interested in participating, weather permitting of course,” Eakins said.
She also said people can send in observations to the American Meteor Society.
Jerry Clayton contributed to this report.
