Perseid Meteor Shower August 2013: What It Is; How, When, Where to View

For sky gazers in the Northern Hemisphere, an excellent opportunity is coming up to see a fantastic light show in the sky by way of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

According to a report from YubaNet.com, NASA has been gathering data on "fireball" activity over the past several years and the data points to this year's Perseid meteor shower as the "fireball champion" of annual meteor showers.

"We have found that one meteor shower produces more fireballs than any other," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

And that would be the 2013 Perseid meteor shower. A fireball is a very bright meteor, comparable in brightness to Venus or Jupiter. While fireballs occur somewhat often in Earth's upper atmosphere, they become significantly more numerous when Earth is passing through the debris stream of a comet.

In August, when Earth passes through the cloud of dust left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseid shower will result in a great number of fireballs, and a great show in the sky, visible to the naked eye from many points on Earth.

Examiner.com reports that currently the Northern Hemisphere is in what is known as the peak viewing season for fireballs or "shooting stars."

The reason that the Perseid meteor shower will offer such a great sky show is because the moon will set before midnight on peak viewing nights, which are slated for Aug. 11 and 12. With the moon setting early, skies will be darker, which will offer sky gazers a better chance to view the meteors.

To best view the Perseid show, Examiner.com suggests getting away from urban lights and going into more rural areas. Telescopes and binoculars will obscure your view, so it's best to leave them at home. Once you've settled into a spot, face half-way up toward the northeastern portion of the sky and try to locate the constellation Perseus, as that's the general direction the meteor shower will be in ... and have patience.

SpaceDex.com offers a viewing guide for all 50 states in the U.S. as well as in other countries, along with an ideal time schedule for the light show.