This weekend skywatchers in areas with clear weather and minimal light pollution will have the opportunity to watch the Perseid meteor showers again. I am lucky this year to be spending some time at a remote private dark site which has unobstructed views of most of the sky, and absolutely no light pollution. Now I just need to hope for no cloud cover...

The Perseid meteor showers happen quite regularly every August. They are caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle which passed by the Earth long ago. Each year the Earth passes through Swift-Tuttle's residue, and as the dust and rock hits the atmosphere it burns up, creating a steady stream of shooting stars, at a rate of about one per minute.

For those who are not in a good site for viewing, NASA is going to be live streaming the show on the web. The first webcast of the Perseid meteor shower will be tonight (Saturday), and then tomorrow night (Sunday), the online Slooh Space Camera will provide live views of the Perseids beginning at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) and continuing through the night. 

It should be a fun event, and a great chance to test my new astrophotography gear!