Celestial show this weekend

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk The annual Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak during the early hours of Monday, but it will be visible from Saturday night until Tuesday morning. The celestial show will be most apparent in the north-eastern part of the sky near the Perseus constellation. If the skies remain clear, it will offer stargazers the best opportunity for a few years to see the Perseids. The shower this year coincides with a new Moon, providing sky watchers with the dark skies necessary for excellent observing conditions. The best viewing conditions will be where the sky is clearest and darkest. However, meteors should be visible, to a lesser degree, in cities despite light pollution and smog. Both hemispheres will receive good views but the prime locations will be Western Europe and North America. As an added bonus, watchers should be able to see Mars, which will be in view as a bright red dot in the eastern sky after midnight. The Forbes article has some good viewing tips.