Perseid Meteor Shower Will Peak This Weekend. Will We Be Able to See It?

Skywatchers and astronomy buffs will happy to hear that the Perseid Meteor shower peaks this Friday and Saturday. The big question is if the weather across the Hudson Valley will cooperate?

Friday evening's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with showers and thunderstorms moving in overnight. Saturday evening isn't much better, with cloudy skies and scattered shower up till around midnight.

Another thing that could effect your viewing is our nearest celestial neighbor. Yeah, the Moon. It turned full on August 7, and is now in it's waning phase, but will still be bright enough to potentially hamper viewing.

The Perseids are the remnants left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, as it completes it's nearly 130 year journey around the Sun. They've been viewable since July 17, but mid-August is the best time to see them. You'll still be able to see them through August 24 however.

Unfortunately, bad weather and the Moon's brightness might ruin the show this year for people in the Northeast. If you want to see the shower, then you're best chance is to look to the Northeastern sky around midnight as they rise above the horizon. Also, you'll want to be as far away from city lights as possible.