Mark your calendars! It’s time again for the biggest and the most spectacular meteor showers. The Perseids flashed in the night sky at a rate of about one dozen an hour since mid-July. However, the number of meteors goes strongly intensify in the coming week. Although the meteors will peak on the night of August 11, 2021, they will be visible the days before and after too.
The best viewing times will be from midnight (local time) on August 11 to the early hours of August 12, 2021. Approximately 60 to 100 meteors will be spark across the sky every hour during this time. The Moon will be under the horizon most of the night. This will make it easier to even visualize the dimmer meteors.
Astronomers are advised to sit in a dark area where the entire dome of the sky is visible and be patient. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes for the eye to get used to the dark sky and just as long to see a turn signal meteor. Also, let the telescopes and binoculars at home. Natural fireworks are best seen with the naked eye. Above all, don’t forget to make a wish or two!
Although they are often referred to as “shooting” or “shooting” stars, meteors are cosmic particles of dust and dirt left by comets traveling through the region. When the debris collides with earth atmosphere at high speed, it burns. This results in a flash that looks like shining stars run down across the heavens, or what we call meteors.
The Perseids take their name from constellation Perseus, from where they seem squirt. They are the trail of dust left by Comet Swift-Tuttle as it passes Earth during its 133-year orbit around the Sun. The comet’s next visit will not take place until 2126. However, the debris cottage over the past 1000 years is enough to guarantee an annual meteor shower.
The Perseids regularly impressive performance can be attributed towards Earth passing near the center of the comet’s debris flow each August. This is where the dust is the thickest. Meteors are visible worldwide. However, due to Swift-Tuttle orbital model, the best views are Reserve for residents of the northern hemisphere.
In addition to being the most reliable Of all meteor showers, the Perseids also produce the greatest number of fireballs. These meteors are as bright as Jupiter and Venus. NASA scientists have nicknamed the Perseids the “champions of the fireballs”. They believe the dazzling meteors are the result of Swift-Tuttle massive, 16 miles wide (26 km wide) core. Connoisseurs suspect the comet leaves behind hundreds of meteorites, many of which are large enough to produce fireballs.
Resources: amsmeteors.org, NASA.gov
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