The best meteor shower of every year, IMO, is the Perseid meteor shower. It peaks every August as the earth travels through the tail of a comet named 109P/Swift-Tuttle, at 67,000 MPH. Like bugs on a windshield, we hit some of the small particles trailing the comet and they burn up in our atmosphere. According to Newsweek, the peak time for the Perseids will be this Saturday night/Sunday morning. If you can find someplace REALLY dark Saturday night (and your cousin isn't already there making out with somebody), you'll be able to see (in theory) a bunch of shooting stars. Looks like the weather will cooperate on Saturday. Now, all you have to worry about is the moon being too bright. (we'll wait while you laugh about the time your cousin mooned you)

OK - back to SCIENCE!

If you can get out to that cornfield before 11:30PM on Saturday, looks like you won't have to deal with the moon, since it will just be rising. 

Here's some good advice from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech:

Lastly, put away the telescope or binoculars. Using either reduces the amount of sky you can see at one time, lowering the odds that you'll see anything but darkness. Instead, let your eyes hang loose and don't look in any one specific spot. Relaxed eyes will quickly zone in on any movement up above, and you'll be able to spot more meteors. Avoid looking at your cell phone or any other light. Both destroy night vision. If you have to look at something on Earth, use a red light. Some flashlights have handy interchangeable filters. If you don't have one of those, you can always paint the clear filter with red fingernail polish.

Here's the story. Email me if you see any monster bucks out in that field

And say "hi" to your cousin for me.

 

Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy amuse and thrill you every weekday morning from 5:30 – 10AM on the radio at 100.7 WITL.

Noted zythologist and all-around fun guy Banana Don can be reached via email at don.jefferson@townsquaremedia.com and on Twitter at @WITLBananaDon and @WITLFM. Also, Facebook friend Banana Don and Stephanie at Facebook.com/BananaStephanie and Facebook.com/WITLFM.
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