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the 2012 perseid meteor shower

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presented by science at nasa

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on the nights of august 11th through

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13th the best meteor shower of the year

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will fill pre-dawn skies with hundreds

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of shooting stars

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and that's just for starters

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the brightest planets in the solar

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system are lining up right in the middle

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of the display

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the perseid meteor shower peaks on the

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nights around august 12 as earth passes

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through a stream of debris from comet

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swift tuttle

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we expect to see meteor rates as high as

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a hundred per hour says bill cook of

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nasa's meteoroid environment office

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the perseids always put on a good show

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perseids can be seen any time after 10

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to 11 pm

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the best time to look however is during

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the dark hours immediately before dawn

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also advises cook

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avoid city lights if possible

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faint meteors are easily lost in the

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urban glare

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a visit to the countryside will

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typically triple the number of meteors

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you see

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this year's display is extra special

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because of the planets

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jupiter venus and the crescent moon are

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gathering together just as the perseid

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meteor shower reaches its peak

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the alignment occurs in the eastern sky

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before sunrise on the three mornings of

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highest meteor activity

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on august 11th a 33 crescent moon will

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glide by jupiter temporarily forming a

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bright pair directly above brilliant

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venus

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red giant star aldebaran will be there

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too adding a splash of color to the

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gathering

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on august 12th the narrowing 24 crescent

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moon will drop down between jupiter and

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venus

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together they make a bright three-point

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line in the sky

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frequently bisected by shooting stars

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on august 13th with the shower just

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beginning to wane

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the planets put on their best show yet

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the 17 crescent moon will pass less than

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three degrees from venus as jupiter

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hovers overhead

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skywatchers say there's nothing prettier

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than a close encounter between the

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slender crescent moon and venus

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nothing that is except for the crescent

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moon

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venus

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and a flurry of perseids

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it's only natural while you're watching

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a meteor shower like the perseids to

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count the number of shooting stars you

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see

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it turns out those numbers in your head

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are valuable

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nasa wants them

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meteor tallies gathered by amateur

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skywatchers can be used by nasa's

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meteoroid environment office to study

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and model the perseid debris stream

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we've developed an app for android and

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iphones to help amateur skywatchers

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count meteors in a scientific way and

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report the results to us says cook

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it's called the meteor counter and it's

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available for free in the android

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marketplace and apple's app store

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whether you're counting meteors for

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science or just watching them for fun

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this is a must-see event

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enjoy the show

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for more news about the night sky and