Perseid meteor showers to light up Kamloops sky

Aug 11, 2016 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Perseid meteor showers will light up the sky tonight and into the morning, visible from midnight until dawn from now through to Saturday morning. 

WATCH: Full report by Chad Klassen

If you’re looking northeast, towards Mount Paul, you’ll be able to see multiple meteors every minute.

“Tonight is probably the best viewing,” says Colin Taylor, President of the Kamloops Astronomical Society. “Actually after one o’clock is the best time, because that’s when the moon sets. The moon will go down, it’ll be a nice dark sky. You’ll see lots of shooting stars, should see on average about two a minute.”

It’s not uncommon for the Perseid showers to start in July, but peak viewing is in the next couple nights.

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All the activity is happening because small particles from the comet Swift-Tuttle are entering Earth’s atmosphere and burning up.

The best viewing in the next couple nights around Kamloops will be away from the city and all the lights.

“You want to get into a dark sky location. Down by the river, away from the street lights, is good,” says Taylor. “McArthur Island in the middle of the fields is good. I’m probably going to go up the Rose Hill area and have a look from there. You have to look to the northeast, in a dark location, and you’ll be able to see shooting stars.”

Top 5 locations around the Kamloops area

  1. Rose Hill
  2. Knutsford
  3. Lac Le Jeune
  4. Paul Lake
  5. Cinnamon Ridge