According to Astronomy.com, the Perseid Meteor shower's peak occurs on a weekend when the moon is in its waning crescent phase, which means the moonlight won't interfere with your view of the dashing meteors. And, since it's on a weekend, Plateau residents can stay up late Saturday night and sleep in the next day.
What's more, the local area has mostly clear skies forecast both nights, and sunny, warm days all weekend, with highs hitting 80. Here's the Enumclaw weekend forecast.
You don't even need a telescope. Just spread out a blanket, maybe a late-night picnic, lay back and enjoy!
Not sure where to go? Astronomers from the University of Washington Astronomy Department share some of their favorite viewing spots here.
Or, the will be running from 7 p.m. tonight to 10:15 p.m. for those who want to bundle up and head to higher elevations. It costs $20 for adults, $15 for youth/seniors (11-17/70+), $5 for kids ages 3 - 10 and free for babies 0-2. You won't be able to come back down until 11:15 p.m. at the earliest, and the last download time will be 12:30 a.m. Bonus: Warm beverages will be available for purchase too! (More information)
Perseid Meteor Trivia:
- These meteors travel 37 miles per second!
- The best time to view will be 2 a.m. on Aug. 12.
- The Perseid Meteors are cast-offs of the Swift-Tuttle comet, according to Space.com.
- The shower began on July 23 and will peak the night of Aug. 11-12.
- Look toward the Perseus constellation, which forms an inverted "Y" shape and is in the northeast.
- Some of the meteroids are as small as a grain of sand, but they have the kinetic energy of a nuclear bomb!
- If you see a very slow, bright object sailing across the sky, it's either a satellite or a Space Station.
Where to view:
- You don't need a telescope to view this celestial event, so just head out to a dark spot.
If you snap a great photo of the shower, share your pictures with us in the Pics and Clips gallery.
