If the conditions are right, a lot of shooting stars will be visible tonight, and one good local viewing spot is Delta Beach, where the dark skies make for ideal stargazing.
Scott Young, a Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, says this will be the peak night for the Perseids meteor shower.
Young explains that meteors are commonly referred to as shooting stars or falling stars. These streaks of light in the sky are caused by little pieces of dust, sand, or rock in outer space, which burn up in our atmosphere.
According to Young, there is a lot of dust scattered in space. And, similar to your home, the dust collects in a few places, causing dust bunnies to form in the earth's orbit. Young says the Perseids meteor shower is like an interplanetary dust bunny, which the Earth passes through.
The Perseids meteor shower started already in late July and has been slowly ramping up. Young says by the first week of August, the meteor shower will produce about 10 meteors per hour. The peak night is tonight and early tomorrow morning, when as many as 60 meteors could be visible every hour.
Young explains, however, that two major factors could prevent us from seeing that many shooting stars tonight. One of those factors is the moon. The full moon was on Saturday, but it will still be big and bright in our sky.
"This year, the moon is going to wipe out probably two-thirds of the number of meteors that we might see," he says.
The second factor is the wildfire smoke. Environment Canada has issued an Air Quality Statement, suggesting visibility will fluctuate. Young notes that the smoke will dim everything in the sky.
"So I'm not sure this is going to be the best year for the Perseids," admits Young. "It's still worth going out for and still worth checking out, but I think next year might be a better year."
He says if you miss he spectacle tonight, you can still try tomorrow night. Young says the Perseids meteor shower lasts until almost the end of August. However, the night after the peak, the rate of meteors is already down by 50 per cent.
Young says if you choose to watch this evening rather than tomorrow morning, you will probably see fewer meteors, but they will be brighter and moving more slowly in the sky. If you wait until tomorrow morning, there should be more meteors per hour.
"I know a lot of people will not want to go out at four in the morning, but that is the best time to see the largest number of meteors," says Young.
If watching for shooting stars is something new for you, Young's tip is to find a spot away from any other light that can shine in your face. While you cannot escape the moon, Young says you can go to a location where there are no street lights in your view. Then, just lie on your back and look up, preferably facing the darkest part of the sky.
"The meteors can appear all over the sky, and it's not like something that you need binoculars or a telescope or anything like that for," he adds. "It's just a thing that you sit with your eye and look at the sky."
Meanwhile, Young says the Perseids might be the most popular of the meteor showers because they happen in summer. He notes the Geminids are probably a better meteor shower; however, it takes place in December when few people want to stand outside at night, staring at the sky.
Young says the Perseids have been a strong meteor shower for about 2,000 years. He notes there is a comet that goes by every number of years that replenishes the dust. For that reason, he says this meteor shower does not get any less spectacular as the years go by. And for Young, he says this is an event in our night sky that he still looks forward to each year.
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