A Spectacular Meteor Shower Is Peaking Soon & Here's How To See The Most Shooting Stars
No telescope required! 🌠
The peak of the Perseid meteor shower in Canada is almost upon us, and Narcity spoke to Jenna Hinds with The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada to find out some tips and tricks for spotting the most shooting stars in the sky.
On the evening of August 12 and into the morning of August 13, the meteor shower will reach its peak and the best time to watch for shooting stars is after midnight. The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers of the year because it usually has around 50 to 80 meteors an hour and a peak of 90 meteors an hour, a rate of more than one a minute.
"It's even better this year because the moon will only be a thin crescent right after sunset and its light won't block the light from the smaller meteors," Hinds told Narcity.
You'll get a great view no matter where you are in Canada, so long as there's no cloud cover. The key is to head away from cities to somewhere that's dark, so lights don't outshine the meteors.
To see the most meteors, Hinds recommends finding open areas like parks, fields and lakefronts where you can see vast expanses of the sky and keeping your eyes up. You should bring a chair, blanket or a sleeping bag so you can keep looking up without straining your neck.
The Perseids get their name because the meteors appear to come from the constellation Perseus, but that doesn't mean you have to look at the constellation to see the shooting stars.
"Since the meteors will be streaking away from the constellation, as long as you're looking anywhere else in the sky, you'll get a great view," Hinds said.