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I'm talking about the Light Pollution ratings on this page: http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/faq/2.html

I live in an area which is a 7 on the Bortle Scale ("red" on clearsky.com), but within 2 hours of an area with a rating of 3. I am trying to determine how far I need to drive in order to get a proper viewing.

What is the maximum rating that will enable me to view the Perseid Meteor Shower tonight (2018)?

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The darker the better.

There are meteors of different brightnesses in the Perseid shower, including some fireballs that can be seen in any (cloudless) sky.

But many of the meteors are dimmer, and the quoted rate of 60 per hour assumes dark skies. As there is no moon tonight, you would benefit if you can get to a dark sky location. If you can see the milky way, you can see the Perseids.

I am under a blanket of cloud, but have seen a few while out running on Wednesday.

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    $\begingroup$ I drove out to the darker area (rating = 3) and I'm glad I did. One person in the group counted 15 meteors over 3-4 hours. I saw less than half of that, as I was distracted fiddling with camera settings. $\endgroup$
    – Alex R
    Aug 14, 2018 at 16:29
  • $\begingroup$ If you had a good time, try the Geminids in mid December. $\endgroup$
    – James K
    Aug 14, 2018 at 16:37

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