Stargazers in the GTA could be in for a treat this weekend when they look up to catch the annual Perseid meteor showers.

The meteor show in the night sky unfolds each year as the earth passes by the debris field left in the path of the comet Swift–Tuttle. As the comet bits come near our atmosphere, they burn up and are visible from the earth.

But this year the earth will pass closer to the centre of the comet’s debris field, meaning that roughly double the normal amount of burnups will be visible.

“Normally with dark skies you’d get about 80 meteors per hour,” says Christa Van Laerhoven, a postdoctoral fellow at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. “This year we’re looking at something like 150 or maybe as high as 200 meteors per hour.”

That means that there’s a better chance of catching the show this year. However there are a few things to know.

When to look

While the meteor sightings are expected to be more frequent this year, there is one big caveat in terms of what’s happening locally in our skies.

“There is a big however, and that is the moon,” Van Laerhoven says. “The moon is between a quarter and full, so the moon is quite bright right now and the moon doesn’t set until about 1 a.m. So if you want dark skies you essentially have to wait until the moon goes down.

While the showers will be visible for several days, they will peak on Aug. 11 and Aug. 12.

“Because you want the moon to go down, the morning of the 12th is probably your best bet,” Van Laerhoven says. “Anytime between 1 a.m. and twilight.”

Where to look

While the meteors should be visible throughout the night sky, they generally emerge in the vicinity of the constellation Perseus, toward the northern part of the sky.

That said, the greatest determining factor will be light, Van Laerhoven says.

“If you have the time and capacity, going up to somewhere like Algonquin Park would be fantastic,” she says.

That’s because the light pollution in the GTA makes it difficult to spot the bright bursts.

But if you can’t get out to a cottage or a camp ground way outside of the city, there are still some options.

“Try and find a space that is reasonably open so you can see a fair amount of sky, but where there are trees in strategic places to block out light in nearby buildings,” Van Laerhoven says.

She says within the city, spots such as High Park are the best bet.

“If you can’t get out of the city, that’s probably your best bet. But best bet and good bet are not the same thing,” she cautions.

Several viewing parties will be going in and around the GTA

  • Richmond Hill – a viewing event is being held at the David Dunlap Observatory Thursday, August 11 from 9 p.m. to Friday, August 12 at 12 a.m.
  • Hamilton -- Perseids meteor shower with the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at the Binbrook Conservation Area from 8 to 11 p.m. on Friday August 12
  • Pickering -- Public Stargazing at Millennium Square on Friday August 12 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

How to look

If you’ve been itching to try out a new telescope, this is the wrong event for it.

Van Laerhoven says that by the time you spot a meteor in the sky and adjust your telescope to see it, it will likely be long gone.

“Unless you’re the flash, you‘re probably not going to see it in your telescope,” she says.

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to see much more than you can with the naked eye.  

“The reason these things are bright is because they’re hot. They run into the atmosphere and experience a lot of friction that heats them up and they get bright,” Van Laerhoven explains. “But the little bits of debris that we’re starting from are like the size of a grain of sand. Even if you did see it in a telescope, you’d see the light better, but it’s not like you’re going to see features or anything like that particularly better with a telescope versus your naked eye.”

With your own eyes as your best instruments, it’s worth leaving a little time for them to calibrate.

“It takes your eyes something like 30 minutes to fully adjust to the darkness, so this is a thing that requires patience,” Van Laerhoven says.

To sum up your best technique for catching the Perseids?

“Dark skies, patience and something comfortable to lie on,” Van Laerhoven says.