Astronomer Scott Young from the Manitoba Museum talks about what makes this weekend so special.
“Every August 12th or so the earth goes through a big cloud of dust in space, and each of those little pieces of dust burns up in our atmosphere and creates a shooting star or a meteor. Around august 12th every year we have what is called the Perseid meteor shower where you can see a whole bunch of shooting stars all at once. Every year it’s a little bit different partly because the dust is not exactly smoothly set up. Sometimes we go through a dust bunny, and sometimes we go through a sparse part. And also because of the circumstances here on earth are different. You know, it might be cloudy, or the moon might be in the sky. The bright moonlight can interfere with our view and things like that. The best thing about it is that it happens during the summer time. You know, nobody wants to sit out in a field in 3 in the morning in December, when the other really good meteor shower is. The Perseids is a great introduction to meteor observing and just a lot of fun to watch.”
Scott Young says the Perseid show is always best to watch after midnight. Other sources suggest the greatest opportunities are in the hour or two before sunrise. Either way, if the clouds stay away and you're patient, it's possible to see up to 100 shooting stars an hour or more!