Meteor Shower August 2012, Perseid Lights Shooting Stars Viewing Times on West Coast, East Coast and Canada, Live Stream
It's that time of year again known as the annual Perseid meteor shower. It's when mother nature presents us a marvelous night show of shooting stars. The best times to view is late hours of Saturday night (August 11) though early Sunday morning. You can catch it on live stream also.
The shooting star display is scientifically explained as Perseid meteor shower because it's the time when the Earth travels through what's left of the comet Swift-Tuttle. And when viewing into the sky from earth, it the meteor shower appears to be shining from the constellation Perseus.
East Coast: New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami, Atlanta
11:00 p.m. - night fades (peak 2:00 a.m.)
Houston, Chicago:
10:00 p.m. - night fades(peak 1:00 a.m.)
Denver:
9:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m. (peak: 12:00 a.m.)
West Coast: Los Angeles, San Francisco:
Evening time - 5:00 a.m. (peak 11:00 p.m.)
The metro shower typically happens annually around late July and early August. Astronomer, Jeremie Vaubaillon from The Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides (IMCCE) predicted that this year's meteor shower would happen August 11th between 0400 hours and 1300 hours UT.
The timing is perfect for North America residents to enjoy the annual show. It falls in the predawn hours of Sunday for Americans.
Depending on the time of night and the conditions of the sky, observers will see a different number of meteors. Some people boast of seeing up to 100 meters per hour while others can only see a few.
If the sky is clear and dark, it is possible to see up to 100 meteors fly by. Unfortunately, it's very rare to catch that especially with all the city lights.
The live stream is available below: