The Perseid meteor shower has been showing its lights since July, but this week it is at its peak. From yesterday, August 11, to tomorrow August 13th it will be showering the skies with about 12 shooting stars per hour.
We are hoping for clear skies to watch from here in Southern Ontario, and if you have the chance to watch this beautiful lightshow, locations you can watch from include from your own home or favourite personal watch spot, or from designated dark sky preserves.
A dark sky preserve is an area designated as protected from light pollution. This both provides brilliant stargazing experiences, and benefits the local ecosystem as it prevents wildlife cycles from being disturbed by artificial lights.
A list of dark sky preserves can be found in the link below:
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/experiences/ciel-sky
In the Greater Toronto Area nautical twilight (a time when it is dark enough to see the brightest planets) begins just before 9pm tonight. More precise local times can be looked up on timeanddate.com.