Full buck moon has chance to stun with orange, reddish color this week

The Perseids will peak overnight, but it is worthwhile to get outside and see it Tuesday night as well. Start watching after 11 p.m. local time and especially in the hours before dawn to look for them.

The best place to watch the Perseids is somewhere free of city lights that offers a clear view of the entire sky. Being comfortable is key to watching the shower.

At a dark sky site with no moon present, one can count on seeing up to 100 meteors an hour. This year, the bright and almost full moon will reduce the number to a predicted 30 to 40 an hour. These will be bright meteors and the Perseids produce a lot of fireballs -- meteors that are brighter than Venus.

Here are some tips on how to view the Perseids in moonlight and photograph them.

The bad news is that the weather is giving us a forecast of fog and clouds, but the good news is that there could be breaks in the overcast weather.

Depending on how large these "sucker holes" are -- a term astronomers use for holes in cloud cover -- meteors might be seen.

Big Meadows and Shenandoah National Park have a good forecast. Delaware North and Charlottesville Astronomical Society will be hosting an event on Monday night, starting at 7:45 p.m., weather permitting, for the Perseids and telescopic views of the sky.

If it is cloudy where you live, you can still enjoy the Perseids -- and meteors at any time -- by tuning in to live radar. This includes daytime hours as well.

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