How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower This Summer
Celestial events are often short-lived, so the most determined astrologers do not go to bed at inopportune hours and even risk going into uncomfortable conditions to see ephemeral miracles. But every summer, a Perseid meteor shower sweeps across the evening sky for more than a month, leaving even the warmest astronomy buffs with little reason to miss the show that unfolds right over their heads.
The annual meteor shower is back, and like a nearly six-week procession of burning stones that permeate the entire cosmos, we are very lucky to have one.
What is the Perseid meteor shower?
Perseids flash in the evening sky every year, usually between mid to late July and mid August. This year, the peak of rain will be observed between August 11 and 13, when a stream of meteors will fly through the ether at a speed of about 100 per hour.
This shower should not be overlooked as it is considered the best heavenly sight of the year. According to NASA, the Perseids are the remnants of 109P / Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 133 years . Our planet crosses the trail of meteoroids left after the comet every summer, creating the Perseid meteor shower. Swift-Tuttle is a monster with a core 16 miles across, which NASA views as: “It’s almost twice the size of the object believed to have killed the dinosaurs.”
The shower is named after the closest constellation to it – Perseus – the emitter of the Perseid or the nearest star illuminating the meteor shower. This particular stream is known for casting long streaks that follow meteoroids as they sweep through space (a meteoroid is called this when it is in space; it is only when it enters Earth’s atmosphere that it is classified as a meteor). On average, about 60 space stones fly by per hour, but at the peak of rain they can reach 100.
Another reason the Perseids are remarkable: fireballs. NASA explains how the shower creates them:
Fireballs are large explosions of light and color that can last longer than the average streak of a meteor. This is due to the fact that fireballs arise from larger particles of cometary material.
Despite the spectacle they produce, the Perseids are actually “the size of a grain of sand,” according to Space.com . The tiny specks travel at 133,200 miles per hour and can reach temperatures around 3000.
How to see the Perseids
Viewing instructions are pretty straightforward if you’re in the northern hemisphere. NASA recommends that promising climbers go outside “in the hours before dawn, although sometimes meteors from this shower can be seen as early as 22:00.” Of course, finding a clear sky without light pollution is one of the best practices. for optimal viewing.
While this shower technically starts tomorrow (July 14th), it only gets better when July turns into August. Carve out some space on your calendar – it’s worth it.