Photo: NASA

Every August, the Perseid Meteor shower lights up the night sky.  The Perseid lasts for a month, but this year, you’ll get the best view at its peak on Aug. 11 and 12, when there’s a new moon and the rest of the sky is dark.

Take a trip outside of city limits, away from streetlights and you’ll have great viewing with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, or even the naked eye.  Houston homeschoolers can also view the shower, part of the Swift-Tuttle comet tail, at the George Observatory (admission fee applies).

Additional resources and activities:

• Explanation of meteor showers at Knowledge House
• Observing the Perseids from Meteor Showers Online
• H. R. Macmillan Space Centre Guide to Perseids, 2009
• The Myth of Perseus, namesake of Perseids

  
  

Leave your telescopes out, because Jupiter is prime viewing this month and there’s a lunar eclipse on August 28.