I live in New York and I can't find out where the constellation Perseus is so I can watch the meteor shower. Can anyone help?|||Perseus is in the northeastern part of the sky, but it really doesn't matter what direction you look in. But you really need to get out of New York City to stand a chance of seeing anything.
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the longest in the year. Its peak is on August 12 at 18 h. U.T., which converts to 2 p.m. E.D.T. Although the duration is nominally 2 days, shower meteors are visible for at least a week on either side of this time. The best time to observe meteors is generally after local midnight (1 a.m. Daylight Time). The catch with the Perseids this year is that the Moon is just past Full, and rises about the same time, killing all but the brightest meteors. In other words, 2009 is not a favourable year for viewing the Perseids. You will do better with the Orionids (October 21), the Leonids (November 17), and the Geminids (December 14).
The most important thing you can do to see the Perseids is to get out of any city you might live in. You need a dark country sky to see all but the very brightest meteors. Also, plan to spend some time, at least an hour, looking for them, since they come erratically, often in bunches with nothing in between. It doesn't matter where you look in the sky; they can occur in any direction.|||Geoff gave a good answer. So get out side after dark and start looking in a North East direction.
Anytime after dark. The moon may interfere with viewing after it rises.
And you can LISTEN to them enter the atmosphere in real time RIGHT NOW at this web site:
http://spaceweatherradio.com/
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