Two Major Sky Events Collide Today As Perseid Meteor Shower

Skywatchers have a pretty incredible combination of celestial events happening today and tonight.

The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight, August 12, into the early morning hours of Thursday, August 13, potentially producing dozens of shooting stars per hour. Under excellent dark sky conditions, observers could see close to 100 meteors per hour during the peak.

But that’s not the only major event happening today.

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A total solar eclipse is also happening today, August 12, with totality visible along a path crossing Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and portions of nearby regions.

For those of us in Louisiana, the solar eclipse won’t be visible, so don’t head outside this afternoon expecting the Sun to suddenly disappear.

Tonight, however, is a completely different story.

The Perseids will be visible from Louisiana, and conditions this year are especially favorable because the peak arrives around a new moon, meaning very little moonlight will interfere with the show.

Meteor rates generally increase through the late-night and pre-dawn hours.

You don’t need a telescope or binoculars. Find somewhere away from bright streetlights, give your eyes about 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, put the phone down and look up.

The Perseids happen every year when Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Tiny pieces of debris slam into Earth’s atmosphere at tremendous speeds and burn up, creating the bright streaks across the sky we call shooting stars.

So while Louisiana won’t get today’s total solar eclipse, we absolutely have something worth looking up for tonight.

With the Perseids reaching their peak and almost no moonlight getting in the way, tonight could deliver one of the better meteor shows we’ve seen in years.

Also reported by: Weather.com.