Typically considered the year’s most reliable and stunning meteor shower, the annual Perseids are headed toward a late Tuesday night into Wednesday dawn peak. The shower, named after the Constellation Perseus, will fill the skies with trails of light from space debris sparkling in our atmosphere.
Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.
NASA calls it “the most popular meteor shower of the year” — and for good reason.
The average rate is about 25 meteors streaking across the night sky per hour, but at the peak it can be as high as 50 to 100. Perseids tend toward brilliant, often producing lengthy and multicolored streaks of light. There are also usually a handful of the most intense events, known as fireball meteors, which can turn the dark of night to a hint of daylight if only for fleeting moments.
Like most meteor showers, the Perseids are a show for night owls and the earliest of risers. They are at their most numerous during the predawn hours in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.
Appearing to radiate outward from the Constellation Perseus in the northern sky, the Perseids can be seen in all quadrants of the night sky. Tracing their path will lead back toward Perseus.
The mostly sand-sized rock and ice specks that cause the Perseids are born of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed Earth in 1992. Swift-Tuttle is a large comet that orbits the sun once every 133 years, and it zooms by close to Earth during this pass.
So-called “shooting stars” occur as our planet moves through its debris cloud and the bits burn up in our atmosphere. In the rare case an object is large enough to make it to the ground, it gains the name “meteorite.”
This year’s Perseid peak lines up with the full moon, which will make it harder than usual to view some of the show, especially those meteors which are dimmest and in closest proximity to our beaming celestial neighbor.
August’s sturgeon moon was at 100 percent illumination early Saturday and will have waned to about 80 percent by the predawn Wednesday.
![]()
The predawns in lead-up to the peak will also be polluted by light given an even fuller moon. With the timing of the moon phase, it will remain above the horizon and shining brightly through the week.
All is not lost — in fact, far from it.
As space.com notes, a Perseids event during a full-ish moon might end up more about the quality than quantity. The meteor shower is known for its long and bright trails, plus there are the aforementioned fireball meteors that can reach incredible brightness. The best of the event will have little problem shining through any moonlight.
There will also be the potential for the much less frequent meteor from waning showers of southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids. These will tend to have less intensity than the Perseid meteors and thus may often fail to be seen with the bright moon overhead.
This time of the year is generally good for viewing the night sky. Clouds tend to be fewer than during many other seasons and temperatures are often mild enough for comfortable outdoor viewing conditions.
When gazing up for such a show, it is best to allow eyes at least 30 minutes to acclimate to the darkness. While the moon will be bright, it will still be best to get away from city lights as much as possible to enhance the experience. You can also place yourself in a moon shadow, such as behind a taller building, a stand of trees or a hill that blocks it from view.
Around the Lower 48, viewing conditions look to be most favorable in the western states, the northern Plains and portions of the East Coast such as the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Clouds and the potential for rain are higher in the Southeast, the Midwest and perhaps parts of the Rockies.
To the north in Canada, the international border region of the U.S., and in portions of the western U.S., haze caused by wildfire smoke may cause some additional viewing difficulties.
The Perseids will wane but still offer decent viewing through late week, and even deeper into the month.
This months’ new moon, with total sky darkness, occurs on Aug. 23. Next year’s Perseids will also occur during a new moon, so plan on catching that one, too.
Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.
NASA calls it “the most popular meteor shower of the year” — and for good reason.
The average rate is about 25 meteors streaking across the night sky per hour, but at the peak it can be as high as 50 to 100. Perseids tend toward brilliant, often producing lengthy and multicolored streaks of light. There are also usually a handful of the most intense events, known as fireball meteors, which can turn the dark of night to a hint of daylight if only for fleeting moments.
Like most meteor showers, the Perseids are a show for night owls and the earliest of risers. They are at their most numerous during the predawn hours in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.
Appearing to radiate outward from the Constellation Perseus in the northern sky, the Perseids can be seen in all quadrants of the night sky. Tracing their path will lead back toward Perseus.
The mostly sand-sized rock and ice specks that cause the Perseids are born of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed Earth in 1992. Swift-Tuttle is a large comet that orbits the sun once every 133 years, and it zooms by close to Earth during this pass.
So-called “shooting stars” occur as our planet moves through its debris cloud and the bits burn up in our atmosphere. In the rare case an object is large enough to make it to the ground, it gains the name “meteorite.”
This year’s Perseid peak lines up with the full moon, which will make it harder than usual to view some of the show, especially those meteors which are dimmest and in closest proximity to our beaming celestial neighbor.
August’s sturgeon moon was at 100 percent illumination early Saturday and will have waned to about 80 percent by the predawn Wednesday.
The predawns in lead-up to the peak will also be polluted by light given an even fuller moon. With the timing of the moon phase, it will remain above the horizon and shining brightly through the week.
All is not lost — in fact, far from it.
As space.com notes, a Perseids event during a full-ish moon might end up more about the quality than quantity. The meteor shower is known for its long and bright trails, plus there are the aforementioned fireball meteors that can reach incredible brightness. The best of the event will have little problem shining through any moonlight.
There will also be the potential for the much less frequent meteor from waning showers of southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids. These will tend to have less intensity than the Perseid meteors and thus may often fail to be seen with the bright moon overhead.
This time of the year is generally good for viewing the night sky. Clouds tend to be fewer than during many other seasons and temperatures are often mild enough for comfortable outdoor viewing conditions.
When gazing up for such a show, it is best to allow eyes at least 30 minutes to acclimate to the darkness. While the moon will be bright, it will still be best to get away from city lights as much as possible to enhance the experience. You can also place yourself in a moon shadow, such as behind a taller building, a stand of trees or a hill that blocks it from view.
Around the Lower 48, viewing conditions look to be most favorable in the western states, the northern Plains and portions of the East Coast such as the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Clouds and the potential for rain are higher in the Southeast, the Midwest and perhaps parts of the Rockies.
To the north in Canada, the international border region of the U.S., and in portions of the western U.S., haze caused by wildfire smoke may cause some additional viewing difficulties.
The Perseids will wane but still offer decent viewing through late week, and even deeper into the month.
This months’ new moon, with total sky darkness, occurs on Aug. 23. Next year’s Perseids will also occur during a new moon, so plan on catching that one, too.
Comments
Post a Comment