August is usually regarded as "meteor month" in the Northern Hemisphere, as one of the best shooting star displays of the year reaches its peak near midmonth. The annual Perseid meteor shower is beloved by everyone from meteor enthusiasts to summer campers.

But a major obstacle, the Moon, will work against attempts to spot the fiery space dust this year. The Moon will turn full on Aug. 12, severely hampering observations just at the wrong time. Bright moonlight will flood the sky all through that entire night.

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All is not lost, however: Windows of potentially rewarding opportunity will come on the weekend prior to the expected peak of activity.

And every once in a while, a Perseid fireball will blaze forth, bright enough to be quite spectacular and more than capable to attract attention even in bright moonlight.

Perhaps the best times to look this year will be during the predawn hours several mornings before the night of full Moon. Thats when the constellation Perseus (from where the meteors get their name because they appear to emanate from there) will stand high in the northeast sky.

Windows of opportunity

In fact, three "windows" of dark skies will be available between moonset and the first light of dawn on the mornings of Aug. 8, 9 and 10 (conveniently on the weekend). Generally speaking, there will be about 2 hours of completely dark skies available on the morning of the 8th. This shrinks to about 1 hours on the 9th, and to less than hour by the morning of the 10th. [Time Table]

Perhaps up to a dozen or so forerunners of the main Perseid display might appear to steak by within an hours watch on these mornings. Other shooting stars not associated with the Perseids could be visible, too.

In the absence of moonlight a single observer might see up to 100 meteors per hour on the peak night, a number that sadly cannot be hoped for in 2003. In fact, it appears that this year, Perseid fans will be uttering the same lament that the old Dodger fans in Brooklyn used to: "Wait till next year!"