During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday June 19th. At this time the moon will lie opposite of the sun and will lie above the horizon all night long. Toward the end of the period the waning gibbous moon will rise during the late evening hours allowing a few hours of observing before the lunar glare begins to interfere with viewing.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday June 11th. At this time the half-illuminated moon will lie 90 degrees east of the sun and will set soon after midnight for most locations located at mid-northern latitudes. As the week progresses the window of opportunity for viewing meteors in dark skies decreases with each passing night. Toward the end of the period the nearly full moon will lie above the horizon nearly all night long, making meteor observations difficult.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its new phase on Sunday June 5th. At this time the moon will lie close to the sun and will be invisible at night. Later in this period, the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observing.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday May 29th. At this time the half-illuminated moon will rise shortly after near 0100 local summer (LST) and will remain above the horizon the remainder of the night. While the half-illuminated moon is bright, successful meteor observations can be obtained by simply keeping the moon out of your field of view. Conditions improve with each passing night as the moon wanes and rises later morning.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday May 21st. This is the worst time to try and view meteor activity as the glare from the moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. Conditions improve slightly as the moon wanes and rises later in the evening. Unfortunately early evening meteor rates are very low, moon or no moon.
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