All predictions suggest there's going to be a spectacular meteor shower, so get outside and look up!
It's that time of the year when dust from Comet Swift-Tuttle rains down on our atmosphere, producing the famous Perseid Meteor Shower.
The shower, which peaks around Aug. 12 every year, rarely disappoints and is known to generate its fair share of bright meteors, colloquially known as "shooting stars." The Perseids are a favorite among amateur astronomers, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere as the warmer nights and (if you're lucky) clear summer skies allow comfortable and extended viewing sessions.
Also, as with every meteor shower, no specialist equipment is needed. You just need a comfortable spot, warm clothes (yes, even in the summer, as sitting and lying still for long periods can sap body heat) and patience.
But this year holds some extra excitement -- there's going to be an outburst... probably.
As a comet orbits the sun, it deposits ice and dust particles as a trail through interplanetary space called a meteor stream. You can imagine these streams as the contrail produced by aircraft; meteor streams trace out the paths the comets have taken during their various orbital circuits. Every year at around this time, the Earth passes into Comet Swift-Tuttle's dusty trail.
Over the tens to hundreds to thousands of years after being deposited in space, these meteor streams are influenced by the gravities of the planets (particularly Jupiter) and it just so happens that this year, three different meteor streams are coinciding as Earth orbits through them.
"This year Jupiter's influence has moved the 1079, 1479, and 1862 streams closer to Earth, so all forecasters are projecting a Perseid outburst with double double normal rates on the night of August 11-12," Bill Cooke, Head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, told EarthSky.org.
So what does this mean for us? It could mean that we see up to 200 meteors per hour. But these are meteors and just because there's a statistically higher chance of seeing more meteors than usual, it's by no means a sure bet. Still, the models strongly suggest there will be an outburst, so don't miss it -- get outside and watch for those streaks of light.
Though the peak is likely to be observed from the night of Aug. 11 to the pre-dawn morning of Aug. 12, it's worth taking a look tonight (Aug. 10) as activity will be picking up. Just go outside, look for the Perseid "radiant" (the location in the sky the meteors appear to originate), which is the constellation of Perseus and get comfortable.
Want to find out more about the Perseids and chat with astronomy amateurs and professionals? Be sure to follow #MeteorWatch on Twitter and across other social media platforms to join in!
"The Perseid Meteor Shower will be at its most active over the next few days and I will be doing my yearly #MeteorWatch for it," Adrian West (@VirtualAstro), astronomer and organizer of the MeteorWatch.org website, told Discovery News. "I'm trying my best to make astronomy more popular and accessible and the Perseids are always a winner."
Read more at Discovery News
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