Virginians who are able to get away from city lights and rain clouds Wednesday night may get one the best glimpses of the Perseid Meteor shower of our lifetime.
The Perseid meteor shower is visible every year, but this will be a great opportunity to try to see it in Virginia.
“This will be the best one for about another 28 years,” said Scott England, an aerospace professor at Virginia Tech, who explained meteors are small pieces of dust and ice that look like shooting stars as they enter the earth’s atmosphere.
“It lasts for a couple of nights but its peak will be Wednesday night to Thursday morning,” England said.
As many as 100 shooting stars an hour will be visible, if the conditions are right. Unfortunately, rain and clouds are in the forecast for western Virginia, which would make seeing them tough.
Still, star gazers have something to hope for because there won’t be competing light from the moon. “It’s happening during a new moon,” England said. “Which is gonna make the night sky particularly dark.”
England said the meteors won’t reach the earth, so there isn’t a danger to those watching. He recommends finding a place with scattered clouds or clear skies forecasted. Allow your eyes to adjust to total darkness.
Don’t look at your phone, and don’t use a flashlight, England said. “You’ve got to resist that urge to be using a phone or any other light source to give your eyes the time to adjust for the best view.”
If you're wanting to see the meteor shower Wed, it's looking like it'll be partly cloudy overhead. Hopefully clouds will break long enough to see some of the show. Thursday night will be another opportunity too look for shooting stars.
