How and where to see the Perseid meteor shower in B.C.

It's one of the best meteor showers of the year — and this year's Perseid meteor shower will be "particularly fantastic," according to a Vancouver astronomer.

The shower, which happens each year as the Earth moves through a stream of ice, dust and small rocks left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle, usually results in 80 to 100 meteors an hour.

But this year there will be an "outburst" of 150 to 200 meteors an hour during the shower which reaches its peak overnight Aug 11 and Aug.12, according to Derek Kief, an astronomer with the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

• Planets, a galaxy and a meteor shower: What to look for in the sky this summer

"The reason for that is because Jupiter basically pulled in some of the previous debris path into the orbit of the earth, so it's like an extra-strong debris field that we're going through."

Here are Kief's tips to see the shower:

1. The best viewing is this weekend

The next few days are the best times to see the Perseids, and the peak of the shower is on the night of Thursday, Aug. 11, and into the morning of Aug. 12, between about midnight and 3 a.m. PT.

However, the Perseids can be seen from the end of July all the way to the end of August. Kief says to watch before the 18th when a full moon will make the shooting stars harder to see.

2. Look northeast in the sky

The Perseid showers are named because the meteors originate from a point in the sky in the constellation Perseus.

Kief said that spot in the sky can be found by locating the constellation Cassiopeia  (which looks like a W, E, 3, or M (depending on your orientation).

"If you look right underneath the '3', that's where the Perseid radiant is. That's where most of them will be coming from. That being said, you can see them all over the nighttime sky."

3. Make sure the city is to the south

Kief said the best places to see the showers in Metro Vancouver are dark areas where the bright lights of the city are to the south.

"You want to have your northern sky, or your northeastern sky, completely clear. So, if you're in West Vancouver, North Vancouver, up Indian Arm … the northern side of Coquitlam, even out at UBC or Wreck Beach. Anywhere where northeast of you is clear … you want to get away, away, away from the city."

In general — and for the rest of the province — Kief suggests going somewhere where the horizon is as low and clear as possible.

4. Adjust your eyes to the dark

Kief says to turn off all bright lights and to put phones and other devices away that light up away while waiting.

"It takes about 10 minutes for your eyes to adjust, to darken, to be able to see them. So if you're looking at your phone waiting and you're playing games or whatever on your phone as you wait to see them you're not going to see any because your eyes aren't going to adjust."

Kief says one doesn't need to have a pair of binoculars or a telescope because the meteors are too fast to be picked up by them.

5. Bundle up and have fun

"A blanket, some friends, maybe a warm drink and you're good to go," Kief said.

There may be a viewing party near you. 

In Abbotsford, Metro Vancouver is hosting it's annual Perseid meteor shower watch Aug. 13 at Aldergrove Regional Park, courtesy of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. There will be games, storytelling, food and beverages for sale, and members of the RASC and Fraser Valley Astronomy Club will have telescopes for viewing.

People are also allowed to camp overnight, but must be set up before 8 p.m. and packed up by 11 a.m. on Aug. 14. 

In Penticton, the National Research Council of Canada is hosting an event on Aug. 13 at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory which will include astronomy talks by observatory scientists as well as the opportunity to listen to meteors by radio.