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Biggest Meteor Shower of the Summer Peaks this Week

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this week.

It’s one of the biggest of the year and certainly the biggest of the summer. The shower will peak on Friday night and Saturday morning. The shower is an annual astronomical event showing us space debris as it passes by. “This one in particular, happens because the trail of a comet is leaving behind a nice dusty trail in the solar system,” said Johnathan Winckowski, planetarium coordinator with the Besser Museum. “Think like a pickup driving fast down a dry gravel road and that’s what we’re smashing into, so to speak.”

This year’s Perseid meteor shower won’t be as spectacular because it will peak at the same time as the full moon. However, the amount of meteors you see can go up if you visit one of the few dark sky parks our area. “So whether you’re in Alpena, Rogers City, Oscoda, maybe check out your local dark sky park and you’ll at least be able to see some of the meteors while you’re out there as well as any other cool astronomical stuff happening at the moment,” Winckowski said.

The Besser Museum will host a meteors and smores event at rock port on Friday to observe the shower from 10 p.m. to midnight, and there will be other activities going on earlier in the evening.