Perseids 2008

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The Perseids, probably the best-known meteor shower, will have their maximum on August 12th 11h30m – 14h00m UT with expected ZHRs (hourly rates in theoretical perfect conditions) around 100, but activity already picks up in the second half of July.

The waxing gibbous Moon will be setting between local midnight and 01h30m on August 12/13 for the mid-northern latitudes best-placed to follow the shower (moonset is progressively earlier for places further north), leaving some dark skies to cover whatever happens. For these same locations, the Perseid radiant is viably observable from 22h – 23h local time onwards, gaining altitude throughout the night, so circumstances overall are quite favourable. The predicted maximum would be best-viewed from places in and around the northern Pacific Ocean, including the extreme west of North America west as far as extreme eastern Japan and China, assuming it happens as expected. The only negative aspect to the shower is the impossibility of covering it from the bulk of the southern hemisphere.