Stargazing is a fun activity to do with your friends or partners, but every so often, the sky lights up at night with a meteor shower. This week, through August 23rd, after the sun has set, you have the potential to see a shooting star or two fly across the sky thanks to the Perseid meteor shower. Every year from July 14th to September 1st, the Earth passes through the trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, leaving debris from its flight path.
The peak viewing time to see the shower is on August 12th and 13th, when as many as 80 to 100 meteors can be seen an hour. This time around, the moon was a waning gibbous at about 84 percent brightness, brightening the sky enough that only about 15 to 20 meteors an hour could be seen.
Though the peak time for the meteor shower has passed, it is still possible to go out at night to see a shooting star. As we pass out of the trail of the comet next week, the moon loses brightness, starting at 44 percent today, to 0 percent on the last possible day to see a shooting star
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