When and where to see the Perseid meteor shower light up Tampa Bay

Take a minute to step outside and look up into the sky Friday night — a meteor shower is coming.

This weekend, the Perseid meteor shower is said to be the warm-up act for the total solar eclipse on Aug 21.

In Tampa Bay, the peak viewing time for the shower will be after midnight on Friday and pre-dawn on Saturday in the northeast sky, said 10Weather WTSP meteorologist Grant Gilmore.

The "radiant point" of the meteors will be near the constellation Perseus, hence the name of the meteor shower, Gilmore said.

"The most important thing when trying to view the meteor shower is to find an area that has an expansive view of the sky and is away from city lights," Gilmore said. "Light pollution from artificial lights and the moon will make it difficult to see as many meteors."

Astronomers are projecting a slightly higher than normal rate of 150 meteors per hour across the country. But the bright moon is expected to wash out the finer Perseids, reducing the number people will be able to see.

"Typically, the Perseid Meteor shower is one of the more active meteor showers with more than 100 per hour possible," Gilmore said. "But people should expect to see between 60-80 meteors in ideal conditions."

That said, cloud cover may be an issue, Gilmore said, but those clouds should gradually clear out through early Saturday morning before dawn.

Meanwhile, the real blockbuster cosmic show is fast approaching.

On Aug. 21, the total solar eclipse will be the first to cross the United States coast to coast in nearly 100 years.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Contact Samantha Putterman at sputterman@tampabay.com. Follow her on Twitter @samputterman.