Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing Peaks Tonight and Tomorrow

Every year about this time the Perseid meteor shower comes to visit us. Or does it? Maybe the meteor shower doesn't visit us at all, but we actually go visit it. Let me explain. There's a comet called the Swift-Tuttle. As you might imagine, it was discovered by a couple of fellows named Swift and Tuttle. That was back around 1862. This comment takes 133 years to orbit the sun just once. As you know, the earth goes around the Sun in just one year. So that gives you an idea of how much bigger the orbit is of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Every year during the Earth's trip around the Sun, we pass through the debris left behind by that comet. So the meteor shower doesn't come to us, we come to it! As the small pieces of dust and debris enter the Earth's atmosphere, they create beautiful streaks of light that some like to call falling stars. We're not expecting any clouds in our area, and that should make for great viewing anytime from 11 p.m. to dawn. If you don't want to be outside during those hours, you can actually watch the meteor shower on your phone! Click HERE for that information from space.com.

I also stumbled upon some tremendous photographs of not just the Perseid meteor shower (taken in our area), but many other insanely cool shots around and near Tri-Cities and Moses Lake. Check out photographer KevinRoylance.com. You can follow him on Facebook also HERE.