Chicagoans disappointed to have missed out on Wednesday\u2019s total eclipse that swept across Russia, Greenland, Iceland and Spain can still experience an awe-inspiring celestial event this week: a meteor shower considered the year\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
Every year during the summertime, dozens of swift and bright Perseid meteors streak the skies with long wakes of color and light in the Northern Hemisphere. The shower will peak from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with best viewing during pre-dawn hours.<\/p>\n
NASA scientists<\/a> say this year\u2019s Perseids coincide with a new moon, meaning hopeful stargazers will have a moonless night, which makes for prime viewing. They still suggest avoiding city lights to maximize the experience.<\/p>\n The Perseids can be observed annually from mid- to late July and through most of August as the asteroid comes around the sun. Sometimes it can produce fireball explosions of light and color. It is plentiful, with about 25 observable meteors per hour, each going as fast as 37 miles per second, according to NASA<\/a>. Under dark skies with no moon, viewers have reported seeing between 50 and 100 per hour.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Perseids<\/a> are named after the Perseus constellation, from which they appear to radiate,\u00a0according to the Adler Planetarium<\/a> in Chicago. The Adler explains that, while meteors are colloquially recognized as shooting stars, they are not caused by stars but rather rocks and metal bits from comets burning in Earth\u2019s atmosphere when the planet runs into a trail of debris.<\/p>\n This meteor shower is known for being plentiful and is part of the debris stream of the periodic comet Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the Sun. The large comet was discovered in 1862, and its meteors have been seen from Earth every year for centuries.<\/p>\n How to watch<\/p>\n After midnight:\u00a0<\/strong>Experts suggest viewing during predawn hours and allowing the eyes to adjust for about half an hour, then looking across the sky with a special focus on the northeast to find streaks of light.<\/p>\n No equipment is necessary, as meteor showers are best seen with the naked eye in clear skies with little surrounding light.<\/p>\n For Chicagoans who can\u2019t leave the city, heading toward the lakefront and looking beyond the horizon might offer a relatively dark view.<\/p>\n Find darkness:\u00a0<\/strong>Those who can drive to avoid pollution from city lights might want to head west of Aurora and Elgin, south of Joliet and north of Waukegan to avoid the brightest lights.<\/p>\n In Illinois, the International Dark Sky Association also recommends heading to these communities and parks for dark skies and prime viewing: the\u00a0village of Hawthorn Woods<\/a>,\u00a0Homer Glen<\/a>, the\u00a0Middle Fork River Forest Preserve<\/a>\u00a0near Urbana-Champaign and Mount Forest Island in the\u00a0Palos Preserves<\/a>.<\/p>\n Look for clear skies:<\/strong>\u00a0The main thing preventing hopeful\u00a0viewers from catching a glimpse of the meteor shower could be clouds. Between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., about 40% of skies above the Chicago area will have clouds, according to a\u00a0National Weather Service forecast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shortly after 4 a.m., the stars will begin to fade from view as dawn approaches at 5:26 a.m.\u00a0and the sun rises over the city at 5:56 a.m.<\/a><\/p>\n The next big, reliable meteor shower, known as the\u00a0Geminids<\/a>, will peak in December.<\/p>\n