Perseid Meteor Shower 2011 Peaks Tonight

Skywatchers will once again be treated to a clear view for the annual Perseid Meteor Shower, which peaks tonight.

The meteor shower is visible across the Northern Hemisphere tonight through pre-dawn hours on Saturday, weather permitting. The latest forecasts for Mineola predict clear skies and an average temperature of 65 degrees.

With a full moon tonight, astronomers are advising that the best time to catch the meteors is during the pre-dawn hours on Saturday morning.

An annual summer event, he Perseids are debris from the tail of the comet Swift-Tuttle, that was created over several centuries during the comet's orbit of the sun. Every August, Earth passes through these debris fields, which become more spread out over time. Most meteors are the size of a small grain of sand, with a few as large as a pea. These cosmic specks vaporize as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating fiery trails across the night sky visible from the ground as friction against the atmosphere builds up.

NASA is inviting the public to participate in a Perseids webchat and “all-night” meteor shower viewing party, hosted by astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The webchat will begin at 11 p.m. on Friday and will last until 5 a.m. on Saturday.

For some of the best places to view the meteor shower, residents can head over to or or view at home if they have an unobstructed view of the night sky.