From Jeffrey P. Mayor in the Tacoma News Tribune:
“A crescent moon should not pose a problem to viewing the Perseid meteor shower next week. But as any Northwest astronomy buff will attest, clouds could be another issue.

The meteor show is expected to peak the night of Aug. 12-13. The waning moon will not rise until 1:12 a.m. on Aug. 12 and 2:05 a.m. Aug. 13. Viewing the event last year was made very difficult by a full moon.

Experts are predicting the shower to produce up to 60 meteors per hour. The Perseid tends to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, said earthsky.com, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. These meteors are often bright and frequently leave persistent trains.

To best view the celestial show, find a spot far from city lights and look to the northeast [i.e. outside of Yelm].
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– “Perseid meteor shower visible in the Northwest this weekend”
“According to the University of Washington Astronomy Department, The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs each August as the Earth, following its normal orbit around the Sun, intersects the orbit of dust particles left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle,” quoting KING-TV 5 News.
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