BY JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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VIEWING TIPS
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Some tips for watching the Perseids meteor shower:
 If possible, observe the darkest part of the sky from a rural area far from city lights. Or at least find an open area away from street lights.
Most meteors occur from midnight to dawn. Moonlight will be a problem, but the moon will rise later as the week progresses.
Be patient. And don't forget bug spray.
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Hollywood wreaked celestial havoc this summer, sending a comet crashing toward Earth in Deep Impact, then threatening the world with an asteroid in Armageddon.
So now that you're primed for some real cosmic fireworks, here's disappointing news: The annual Perseids meteor shower, expected to peak in the early-morning hours Wednesday and Thursday, will be sub-par this time around.
Blame it on the gibbous (more than half visible) moon.
"Some of the brighter meteors will show through the moonlight, but the overall numbers will be quite a bit lower than usual," said Alan MacRobert, an associate editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. At best, he said, you'll likely see one meteor every few minutes. That's if you observe in dark, rural areas away from the glow of city lights.
The ideal time to view the Perseids is usually between midnight and dawn, said Bill Schultz, education director for the Cincinnati Astronomical Society.
But this year, you might have some luck spotting meteors in the night sky before the moon rises (which happens locally at 11:05 tonight and 11:43 p.m. Wednesday), Mr. MacRobert said. Skies both nights are expected to be clear to partly cloudy.
The Perseids also appear in fewer numbers several weeks before and after the Aug. 12-13 peak.
Under ideal conditions, a meteor shower is "Mother Nature's fireworks on a grand, cosmic scale," said Curt Cummins, a Cleves resident and member of the astronomical society.
A more exciting meteor shower is expected Nov. 17-18, when the Leonids shoot across the sky. Experts say it's possible that dozens of meteors per second might be visible.
