Breathtaking Meteor Shower Will Take Place This Weekend

I've always been fascinated with space. As a young kid, I remember seeing commercials on TV for Space Camp. I always wished I could have gone. I remember sitting in science class in grade school learning about our solar system and thinking that I wanted to get into astronomy. After learning how complex space is, I thought that would be too hard so I ended up with one of the easiest jobs in the world, radio.

One of the highlights from my vacation to California six years ago was a tour of the San Andreas Fault in the desert. When nightfall came our tour guide did a tour of the stars. He had a piece of equipment called a Sky Scout. It looked like an old video recorder. He would use a laser pointer to point out a star or a planet and then use the Sky Scout to focus in on the planet. The Sky Scout would identify the planet or star and then tell you the star or planet's history. I was blown away by that. So much so that I mentioned to Chris that I would like to buy one. Chris and my stepson Ian bought a Sky Scout for me as a present for Father's Day the following year. I love that thing.

This weekend the Perseid Meteor Shower will be taking place close to a new moon. Which according to Insider, means it will be very bright. According to Insider, it will be most visible on the night of August 12th. and the early morning hours of August 13th. So that means this Sunday night if it's not cloudy over the Binghamton area, which most of the time it is, we should be able to see an awesome meteor shower in the sky.

For the best viewing possible, find the darkest place you can go as far away from street lights as possible.

[via Insider]