It’s time once again this year for the Perseid meteor shower, and most years, it’s a marquee stargazing event over Butler, but not this year. You can blame it on the moon, which will be washing out most of the “shooting stars” of the Perseids. The Perseids peak on Wednesday morning after midnight, but at the same time, the heavens will also be filled with a bright waning full moon that’ll visually wash out the sky, even in the countryside. For sure, you’ll still see some meteors, but many of them will be lost in the moonlight bath. In years when the moon isn’t a factor, you may see over 50 meteors an hour. You may see only about half as many this year or fewer.

Meteor showers occur when the Earth, in its orbit around the sun, runs into a trail of small debris left behind by a comet. Comet

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