A natural occurring astral phenomenon, a meteor shower, is happening close to the earth’s atmosphere.

The Perseid meteor shower happens every year and this year it is going on now. Greene County resident and amatuer astronomer Drew Sorensen says the meteor shower is better to see with your naked eye and it will be by the constellation Perseus, which in the northern part of the nighttime sky. He adds that the best time to view the shower is after midnight and before dawn. However, Sorensen points out the number of meteors you could see will vary, depending on when you try to view them, and the near full moon will also block some of them.

“A meteor shower, it’s not like they send one every minute. You could probably go 10 minutes or more on a shower like this and not see anything. And then see three in 20 seconds. So it takes patience.”

Sorensen adds that meteor showers are quite a sight to see.

“These things are in orbit around the sun. When they come in and cross the earth’s orbit and we catch up with them, or they catch up with us, it’s brief. It’s strange how the bright ones can be spectacular, but even the faint ones are somehow interesting and mysterious. The things that they contain, it’s the stuff that built the solar system.”

He encourages everyone to take a look at the Perseid meteor shower.