The Perseid meteor shower 2018 will peak on the moonless nights of Aug. 11, 12, and 13. The celestial event will be visible worldwide.
Stargazers across the world have the best reason to wait for the Perseid meteor this year as the dark moonless night will make the streaks of lights more magnificent. Astronomers say the Perseids may shower as much as 50 or more meteors per hour.
In the case of most meteor shower events, the best time to watch is between midnight and dawn. The best location will be those far from the glaring city lights.
When Is The Best Time To Spot The Perseids
The Perseids is visible in the northern sky soon after sunsets during the month of August of every year. This year though, it has already been slightly visible since July 17.
Perseids' best peak will be between the moonless summer nights of Aug. 12 and Aug .13, from 4 pm to 4 am EDT, according to NASA. Since the moon will be out of sight, stargazers can already see significant meteor showers in the nights and in the days that lead to the 12th and 13th of this month
The space agency also suggests watching from a few hours after twilight until dawn to maximize the experience. Perseid will somewhat fade but will remain visible until Aug. 24.
Perseid meteor showers have a broad peak because it happens while Earth takes more than three weeks to travel through the wide trail of cometary dust coming from the Swift-Tuttle comet. Perseid's broad peak is what sets it apart from most of the meteor showers.
Sky enthusiasts in the mid-northern latitude will be the luckiest to have the best views of the Perseid meteor shower.
NASA estimates that Perseids may shoot between 60 and 70 per hour at the peak.
The Best Shower Of 2018
Bill Cooke, a NASA meteor expert, said Perseid's generous fireballs this year, coupled by the moonless dark nights make it the best shower among all the meteor showers that will take place this year. Most of the meteors in the Perseids are as tiny as about the size of a grain of sand.
He reiterated how the moon is seemingly working favorably with the Perseids. It will be crescent, which will set just in time before the Perseid peak after midnight, according to Cooke.
"The moon is very favorable for the Perseids this year, and that'll make the Perseids probably the best shower of 2018 for people who want to go out and view it," Cooke said.
