The Perseids are again to dazzle the sky with bursts of sunshine and shade.
The annual meteor bathe, lively since July, peaks earlier than daybreak Monday. It is one of many brightest and most simply considered showers of the yr, producing “shiny blue meteors—and plenty of them,” mentioned College of Warwick astronomer Don Pollacco.
Greater than 50 meteors per hour are anticipated, in line with the American Meteor Society. The bathe lasts via Sept. 1.
Here is what to know concerning the Perseids and different meteor showers.
What’s a meteor bathe?
A number of meteor showers happen yearly and you do not want particular tools to see them.
Most meteor showers originate from the particles of comets. The supply of the Perseids is the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
When rocks from space enter Earth’s environment, the resistance from the air makes them extremely popular. This causes the air to glow round them and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them—the tip of a “shooting star.”
The glowing pockets of air round fast-moving space rocks, starting from the scale of a dust particle to a boulder, could also be seen within the evening sky.
The Perseids outcome from “larger particles than a variety of different showers,” mentioned NASA’s Invoice Cooke, giving them the looks of “shiny fireballs”—simpler to identify than many others.
Methods to view a meteor bathe
Meteor showers are often most seen between midnight and predawn hours.
It is simpler to see taking pictures stars below darkish skies, away from metropolis lights. Meteor showers additionally seem brightest on cloudless nights when the moon wanes smallest.
The Northern Hemisphere can have the very best view of the Perseids. This yr’s peak coincides with a moon round 44% full.
When is the subsequent meteor bathe?
The meteor society retains a listing of upcoming massive meteor showers, together with the height viewing days and moonlight circumstances.
The following main meteor bathe would be the Orionids, peaking in mid-October.
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The Perseids are right here. Here is find out how to see the ‘fireballs’ of summer season’s brightest meteor bathe (2024, August 8)
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