SCI-TECH

Perseids: Tips for spotting the meteor shower

Published Monday, August 11, 2014 9:21AM EDT Last Updated Monday, August 11, 2014 12:23PM EDT

Perseid meteors, upper left, streak past time-lapse-captured stars early Tuesday morning, Aug. 13, 2013 north of Cheyenne , Wyo. The Perseids meteor shower runs from mid-July through mid-August. (AP Photo/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Blaine McCartney, File)

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The night sky will be host to what experts consider to be the best meteor shower of the year this week, but in light of the supermoon, skywatchers may have some trouble spotting it.

"There are plenty of other meteor showers, but this is a prolonged one, at the peak there are a lot of meteors and it's considered to be the nicest to look at," Yevgeni Kissin of the University of Toronto’s Astronomy and Astrophysics department told CTVNews.ca.

The event known as the annual Perseid peaks on Aug. 12 and 13, when there will be between 50 and 100 meteors per hour streaking across the night sky.

However, if you are hoping to view or photograph Perseids, you could face a few challenges. Besides the frequent frustrations posed by cloudy skies, the meteors have to contend with the glare of the supermoon, which was at its largest and brightest early Sunday morning.

"The moon goes in an orbit that's not circular," Earthshine Astronomy and Space Science Organization’s Randy Attwood told Canada AM. "Once a month it gets closer to us…every now and then it happens when that is a full moon."

The combination of factors means the moon shines brighter than usual.

If you live in an urban area, viewing Perseids is also a challenge due to artificial light.

"You have to go away from city lights and in fact lights in general," Kissin said. "Make sure you go out on a clear night. If there are clouds, you won't be able to see them. You have to be patient, even 50 to 100 per hour means it may be a minute in between."

Follow these tips to maximize your chance of spotting the meteor shower:

Try to drive to a rural area and if you can't get out of the city try to go to a park. Kissin said trees can do a lot to block the effect of city lights.
Avoid looking at your phone, especially if it is a smartphone, because that adds to the light near your eyes.
Perseids is visible all night, but the best time is in the hours just before dawn. This will also help avoid the moon.

Kissin added, "Dress warm, bring a chair and take it all in."

For those unable to get outside, NASA will be live streaming the event complete with expert commentary. For a preview, Google has embedded a video as the Google doodle Monday.