The Perseid rates started to riselast week! This chart will be a fun way to see what worldwide observers are seeing in real time hour by hour. http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2016/. The best location is one devoid of any nearby light pollution, so if you are observing at home find the spot against a shielding wall without direct streetlights, motion sensor lights, etc. Mojo and I will be in Lockwood Valley Thursday night till dawn Friday morning, and at our annual "Stars Over Yosemite" star parties Friday and Saturday nights. Free with entrance to the park,every weekend excepting full moon thru Labor Day, a different astronomy club's members hosts the weekend events. Here are some tips and times. I cut out the pertinent few sentences, but the writeup is very good and written by a personal friend, Bob Lundsford who Mojo and I have worked with on NASA Meteor Counting Campaigns since 1998! Excellent graphics, too! http://www.amsmeteors.org/2016/08/viewing-the-2016-perseids/ * "Every year, the dust particles from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet pass the Earth orbit and burn in our atmosphere (about 70 miles / 110km above us) from mid-July to the end of August. When the dust and ice hits our atmosphere at around 37 miles / second (59km/s) they disintegrate high up in the atmosphere after making a brilliant flash of light. Most of these particles are the size of sand grains, while a few are as big as peas. * *Maximum activity is predicted to occur on the morning of August 12^th *, when rates in excess of *1 per minute* may be seen from dark sky sites. On the morning of maximum the waxing gibbous moon will set between midnight and 0100 local daylight time as seen from mid-northern latitudes. This will free up the prime observing hours from interfering moonlight. * As the night progresses the Perseid activity will slowly rise as the radiant gains altitude in the northeastern sky. Not until after midnight will the Perseid radiant gain sufficient altitude to produce pleasing results. Anytime from moonset to dawn will be the best time to see the most activity. Perseid meteors will appear in every portion of the sky. I would suggest facing toward the direction with the flattest horizon, devoid of any trees or hills that may block you view of the meteors. If all directions are favorable, then face toward the darkest portion of the sky, opposite any terrestrial lights that may interfere with viewing. * The best Perseid rates will occur on a 5 night segment centered on August 12^th . So if August 12^th is cloudy you can still see good Perseid activity over the weekend. Just be sure to wait until the moon is low or has set before attempting to observe. * *The best night for viewing the Perseids will the morning of August 12^th .* This year predictions by Mikhail Maslov and Esko Lyytinen predict that we will cross a part of the stream which has shifted closer to the Earth’s orbit by Jupiter. Therefore rates could be up to twice as high compared to a normal Perseid display. Normal rates for this shower are usually around 60 meteors per hour as seen from rural observing sites. *Therefore this year rates could exceed 100 per hour.* Note that meteor activity is notoriously bunched, meaning that there are periods in which you will see no activity and other times when you will see several within seconds of each other. The quoted rates are an average over an hour’s time. Here is a great collection of locations from KCET blogger (and friend) Chris Clarke Inland empire https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/7-stargazing-spots-in-the-inland-empire <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=eOwE0CCBTZ3GhIcXBpM9q6AL_LPzAPTIGpy9TXQc8_L5KIB-bsHTCAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5rY2V0Lm9yZy9zb2NhbC13YW5kZXJlci83LXN0YXJnYXppbmctc3BvdHMtaW4tdGhlLWlubGFuZC1lbXBpcmU.> LA County https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/8-of-the-best-places-to-see-the-night-s… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=J9i_It53a5lppfzOjyAQVNuvkRNOKyUiMCcZRLBVInf5KIB-bsHTCAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5rY2V0Lm9yZy9zb2NhbC13YW5kZXJlci84LW9mLXRoZS1iZXN0LXBsYWNlcy10by1zZWUtdGhlLW5pZ2h0LXNreS1pbi1sYS1jb3VudHk.> San Diego County https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/7-of-the-best-places-to-stargaze-in-san… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=XfzPduZ5-3zVti_faCvA95WvfI1qTvyBR7dZ2NH2pNn5KIB-bsHTCAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5rY2V0Lm9yZy9zb2NhbC13YW5kZXJlci83LW9mLXRoZS1iZXN0LXBsYWNlcy10by1zdGFyZ2F6ZS1pbi1zYW4tZGllZ28tY291bnR5> High Desert https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/9-mindblowing-stargazing-sites-in-calif… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=7hJiRdGKSLn1Y5-BQe3rIOgQeixfMF1XEDTnrsGhlXv5KIB-bsHTCAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5rY2V0Lm9yZy9zb2NhbC13YW5kZXJlci85LW1pbmRibG93aW5nLXN0YXJnYXppbmctc2l0ZXMtaW4tY2FsaWZvcm5pYXMtaGlnaC1kZXNlcnQ.> Finally, What's Up for August is about planets and Perseids: Video https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2016/07/29/whats-up-august-2016 Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/meteors/perseids#! <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=yunUNv2tFN89Hq6paa8DUFdep01Phqy8tptqAANhSXP5KIB-bsHTCAFodHRwczovL3NvbGFyc3lzdGVtLm5hc2EuZ292L3BsYW5ldHMvbWV0ZW9ycy9wZXJzZWlkcyMh> -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up August? Perseids https://youtu.be/0vE5Jr6HttU