It Is Time For the Perseids!

Links:

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-events/streaming-perseid-meteor-shower-at-lowell-observatory-perseids-2020/

https://earthsky.org/?p=165416#:~:text=No%20matter%20where%20you%20live,somewhat%20mar%20this%20year’s%20production.

https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

(Plain Text Version)

The Perseid Meteor Shower

The meteors or “shooting stars” which we see at night are solid objects, usually no bigger than a grain of sand, which burn up when they collide with Earth’s atmosphere.  Many comets leave trails of these particles in orbits around the Sun.  At a particular time of the year, Earth may pass through one of these swarms, producing a “meteor shower”. 

Meteor showers happen at all times of the year, but the Perseid shower is very popular in the Northern Hemisphere because it is seen on the warm nights of August.  More importantly, it produces a large number of meteors (roughly 60 per hour).  The Perseids reach their maximum on the night of August 11-12, but they are also seen for a couple of weeks before and after that time.

The “right” way to observe a meteor shower is to simply lay back on a lounge chair, and watch a particular section of the sky (see links for details).  Before your eyes get dark-adapted, you may think that nothing is happening.  After a few minutes, your vision will be improved.  It takes about 40 minutes to achieve full dark adaptation.  This can be lost very quickly if you look at a white light!

For those who don’t want to go to all of this trouble, the peak night of the Perseids is the time to watch.  If one goes outside and watches for 10 minutes, one or two shooting stars will likely be seen.

The brightness of the meteors ranges from extremely dim to that of a bright star.  They move very fast.  Sometimes, the event will look like a gray thread which very briefly flashes and disappears.

This year, the Perseids share the sky with the waning crescent Moon, which will hide the dimmer meteors.  Next year, the Moon will not interfere with the Perseids.

I have included some links with details.  One link is for a live webcast from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona.  They will use an “all-sky” camera to show the meteors.  I have never seen this, but I will check it out if it is cloudy at my home.