The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight Sunday and into the predawn hours Monday, giving skywatchers around the world a chance to finishelight one of the best shooting star distake parts of the year.
The Perseids are usuassociate one of the most awaitd skywatching events of the year becaengage the shower tfinishs to hand over a high rate of shooting stars. Weather permitting, stargazers could see as many as 100 per hour from gloomy locations.
“Not only is the shower wealthy in radiant meteors and fireballs — No. 1 in fact — it also peaks in mid-August when the weather is still toasty and consoleable,” Bill Cooke, who directs the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Fweightless Caccess in Alabama, shelp in a NASA blog post.
Experts are foreseeing likeable conditions for this year’s show, particularly becaengage the moon will set by around 11:30 p.m. local time, which uncomfervents the shooting stars will not be washed out by radiant moonweightless.
If conditions are evident, it’s best to pick an unobstructed seeing location under the gloomyest possible skies, away from city weightlesss and other establishs of weightless pollution.
In the Northern Hemisphere, stargazers should head out between midnight and dawn. NASA recommfinishs letting the eyes adequitable to the gloomy for about 45 minutes and eludeing seeing at cellphones or other radiant screens.
While the meteor shower’s peak will foreseeed originate the highest rate of shooting stars, Perseid meteors have been evident for weeks — and will persist to be seen after this weekfinish. The shower happens annuassociate from around mid-July to postpoinsist August.
It occurs when Earth passes thcimpolite a cdeafening of dust particles and debris left over from a comet understandn as 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The streaks of weightless are originated as the pieces hit the atmosphere and vaporize, leaving behind radiant trails as they disunite.
