It’s that time of the once again when the earth passes through the rock and dust fragments left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, last time it came near the Sun.
Its time for the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.
As these small particles collide with the Earths atmosphere, they burn-up, often creating a startling streak of light across the sky.
Owen Sound Astronomy expert John Hlynialuk says the meteor shower should peek Wednesday night just after midnight when up to 120 meteors an hour will be visible in the night sky.
He says to view this event, you must look north east toward the constellation Perseid where the meteors will originate.
The Perseid meteor shower actually starts in late July and runs to late August.
However Hlynialuk says the best time to view is around the peak which will be Wednesday night.
However, since Wednesday’s forecast calls for showers and cloud, Tonight will be the best time to observe the meteors.
In addition, Hlynialuk says an interesting planetary alignment that only happens about once every 10 years is takingplace in the western sky just after sundown.
Venus, the brightest planet in the sky will glide below Saturn and join Mars which already is in place and will form a spectacular triangle of stars.
If that is now enough, the International Space Station will be visible over Grey Bruce for the next few says as well.
You can see the ISS Thursday at 3:36 AM, and Friday at 4:22 AM by looking north, northwest about 30 degrees above the horizon.
