Major meteor shower to light up the skies Saturday

Incoming! A major meteor shower is set to streak across the skies early tomorrow as Earth passes through dust streams released by a comet two centuries ago.

Meteor showers are discovered every year, but most are spotted only by skilled observers, says Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office in Huntsville, Alabama. This time, people in North America may see more than 200 per hour. The meteors are dust that was ejected from comet 209P/LINEAR in the 1800s. Earth is due to cross the dust stream for the first time tomorrow. Meteors will be visible from a point in Camelopardalis, a faint constellation near the North Star. The best viewing time probably will be between 2 and 4 a.m., according to NASA's website.

"In case of a dud," the website reports, "there is a consolation prize. On May 24th the crescent Moon and Venus are converging for a tight conjunction the next morning, May 25th. Look for them rising together just ahead of the sun in the eastern sky at dawn." -- New Scientist