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Nikolas Giakoumidis/AP
Perseid Meteor Shower Lights Up the Sky
The popular display from the Perseid Meteor Shower started August 11 and will continue a few more days.
Watch the Sky
The annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaked during the early morning hours on Aug. 12, treating stargazers to a light show in the sky.
The meteors from the Perseids are the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The comet orbits the sun every 133 years, and last came close to Earth in 1992. When Earth moves through the comet’s trail, the debris hits the atmosphere at approximately 130,000 miles per hour and burns up, leaving bright streaks of light behind.
The shower is called the Perseids because the vapor trails of the meteors all seem to come together at a point in the constellation Perseus. According to The Grand Rapids Press, this is an illusion caused by the fact that the comet rubble flies through the Earth's atmosphere at roughly parallel paths.
Meteor showers frequently occur in the winter, making the Perseid shower popular because stargazers don’t have to get cold if they want to watch. And while some meteor showers can be exciting one year and dull the next, the Perseids generally have a consistent number of meteorites. “This is the one we look forward to every year,” stated Mike Bakich, senior editor of Astronomy magazine.
A “very good” meteor shower consists of about one meteor per minute for one observer watching under a dark sky. When the Perseids peak, viewers can see between 60 and 100 meteors an hour, Bakich said.
The meteors from the Perseids are the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The comet orbits the sun every 133 years, and last came close to Earth in 1992. When Earth moves through the comet’s trail, the debris hits the atmosphere at approximately 130,000 miles per hour and burns up, leaving bright streaks of light behind.
The shower is called the Perseids because the vapor trails of the meteors all seem to come together at a point in the constellation Perseus. According to The Grand Rapids Press, this is an illusion caused by the fact that the comet rubble flies through the Earth's atmosphere at roughly parallel paths.
Meteor showers frequently occur in the winter, making the Perseid shower popular because stargazers don’t have to get cold if they want to watch. And while some meteor showers can be exciting one year and dull the next, the Perseids generally have a consistent number of meteorites. “This is the one we look forward to every year,” stated Mike Bakich, senior editor of Astronomy magazine.
A “very good” meteor shower consists of about one meteor per minute for one observer watching under a dark sky. When the Perseids peak, viewers can see between 60 and 100 meteors an hour, Bakich said.
This number is just an average, however. What viewers are more likely to see is a cluster of meteorites in close succession, accompanied by a lull of a few minutes or more.
Those who missed the Tuesday morning display could have some luck in the early morning hours for the next few days. The meteor shower will still be here awhile longer, but astronomers say it won't be as bright. The key will be watching from an area that is as dark as possible.
Those who missed the Tuesday morning display could have some luck in the early morning hours for the next few days. The meteor shower will still be here awhile longer, but astronomers say it won't be as bright. The key will be watching from an area that is as dark as possible.
Related Topics: A treat for researchers; a unique meteor shower
Comets provide valuable information to scientists looking for insight to how planets form. They are unaltered from the time of their formation. "With comets, you can observe what went into making the Earth, its original ingredients," stated Paul Wiegert, a physicist and astronomer with Canada's University of Western Ontario. When pieces of the comet actually survive a trip through Earth's atmosphere, Wiegert says researchers are receiving the equivalent of a "free sample" of space material. "Space missions cost millions of dollars to go get that material, but sometimes we can get it delivered here for free."
Source: National Geographic
Another unique meteor shower is the Geminid shower, which peaks each December. The Geminids have scientists perplexed because they are caused by an asteroid instead of a comet. A comet evaporates when it comes close to the sun, leaving behind the trail of debris that could eventually turn into meteorites. Asteroids don't evaporate, though, which has caused the confusion about how the Geminids were formed.
Source: NASA
Reference: Falling stars; astronomy
According to NASA’s StarChild Web site, “falling stars” or “shooting stars” really aren’t stars tumbling out of the sky. They are bits of dust and rock—called meteoroids—that burn up as they fall into the Earth’s atmosphere. The trail of light behind the meteoroid is called a meteor. Any part of the meteoroid that doesn’t burn and lands on the Earth’s surface is a meteorite.
Source: StarChild
The American Meteor Society provides a calendar of annual meteor showers.
Source: American Meteor Society
The findingDulcinea Web Guide to Astronomy recommends some of the best resources for finding astronomy pictures, news, clubs and more on the Web.
Source: findingDulcinea
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