Shooting Stars Tonight!

One of the more spectacular night viewing events of each year is the arrival of the Perseid meteor shower.  It began on July 17 and will continue to August 24 and it peaks on the tonight.   

Meteor showers occur when the orbit of the earth passes thru space debris left behind by comets and asteroids. These pebble-sized pieces of debris enter our atmosphere and burn-up creating shooting stars.  This particular meteor show is as a consequence of our planet passing thru the debris left over from the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle.  

Take note that this comet completes an orbit around the sun every 133 years and every time it comes back to our neighborhood in the solar system it get closer to the earth.  If Swift-Tuttle were to hit the earth we’ll all go the way of the dinosaurs!  (Although scientists believe that possibility is probably about 2,000 years from now. 

So rest easy, keep your fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions and enjoy the show.

click on image to orient yourself for the meteor shower