The best time of year for scouting for shooting stars, meteors, is about to begin in the week ahead. Late July and early August is the best time to go outside at night and look for these fast moving shooting stars. There are three fun reasons why the time is right.

There are two meteor showers that will command attention ahead. The meteor shoer Delta Aquarids is about to peak on Thursday, July 28. The shower produces a good number of meteors that you will see late at night. We’ve seen forecasts as high as 20 meteors in an hour, but we are happy just to see half the number.

The second meteor shower, the most popular, Perseid shower will take place on August 11, but don’t wait. A bright moon will interfere with that being the night to look this year.

These two showers share the night sky and you might see any or both of them at the same time in the weeks ahead. Aquarid meteors appear to come from the constellation Aquarius. The Perseids appear to come from the constellation Perseus.

The third reason this is a good time is the weather. Nice summer nights, with an occasional firefly flying overhead helps to make this time of year the best.