One of the more spectacular night viewing events of each
year is the arrival of the Perseid meteor shower. It began July 17 and will continue to August 26. Peak viewing opportunity is Thursday evening. With ideal viewing conditions you may be able to spot 2-3 meteors per minute!
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.
The Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus - which appears in the northern hemisphere between the constellations Auriga and Cassiopeia. Look for them radiating from that location in the northeastern sky.
in 2020 we had a nearly-full moon interfering with our view of the night sky. This year the moon will be only 27% illuminated which will mean less light pollution in the sky.
Get out the bug spray and keep your fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions and enjoy the show
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