Perseid Meteor shower takes place late Sunday
Late night star gazers are making plans for the annual Perseid Meteor shower, which will be observable late Sunday into Monday morning.
The light show that appears to come from the constellation Perseus happens each year around Aug. 12 when the earth passes through material left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle.
"The hourly rate is 60 to 90 an hour," said Lake Afton Public Observatory spokesman Greg Novacek, about the number of falling stars that will be visible. "That's over the entire sky. You're lucky if you can look at about a third of the sky. So you can expect about 20 an hour."
Anyone who wants to see the falling stars should go somewhere away from the city lights and focus most of their attention to the northwest.
The observatory, which is about 20 miles southwest of downtown Wichita, will be open special hours, even though a telescope is not recommended for the meteor show. The facility will open from 11 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday.
Regular admission rates apply, but people who show up with an item related to a shower, like a bar of soap or a towel, will receive a dollar off.
Admission to the Lake Afton Public Observatory is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for chilren ages 6-12. Kids under 6 are admitted free. There is no charge for people who want to stay outside and watch the meteors.
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