Get Ready for the Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid happens to be the most spectacular Meteor Shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. The Perseid presents a high rate of meteors every year and it occurs in August when you can go out for an evening under the stars and swat mosquitoes.  2016 should be roughly double the rate of shooting stars.

Orbiting the sun every 130 years the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth is the Comet Swift-Tuttle.  The nucleus of the comet is about 26 kilometers wide.  1992 was the last time it last passed nearby Earth during its orbit around the sun.  It will return in after we’re all dead and gone in 2126.

Nevertheless, because Earth passes through the dust and debris it leaves behind every year - creating the annual Perseid meteor shower – we’ll have regular reminders.  This year should be a good year.

click on the sun to enlarge

Watching the meteor shower is actually observing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright streak of light.  In outer space this debris is referred to as meteoroids.  When they enter and burn-up in Earth's atmosphere they're referred to as meteors.   If a piece makes it all the way down to Earth without burning up, it is called a meteorite.   Most of the meteors in the Perseids are about the size of a grain of sand but if you’re lucky a few might be the size of a pea or a marble.

The Perseids will be active from July 13th through August 26th. Maximum activity is predicted to occur on the morning of August 12th, when rates in excess of 1 per minute may be seen from skies without any light pollution.

You can learn more about the Persids here.