Recent space talk has centered around NASA's mission to mars, dubbed the Mars Science Laboratory. Instead of waiting for grainy images and short video clips from the space administration, Earth dwellers can catch an annual, cosmic event with their very own eyes. The Perseids, a recurring metor shower, will be in full bloom on Saturday night, from August 11 to 12.
The Perseid meteor shower is most visible in the northern hemisphere, and all one needs to do is sit, back, relax, and enjoy the heavenly fireworks - no telescopes needed. At its peak on Saturday night, the meteor shower should hit a frequency of 60-80 meteors per hour, around one every minute. These meteors will be traveling at a speed of 37 miles per hour when they clash into the Earth's atmosphere, leaving us the bright, spectral trails that we see in the night sky.
The meteor shower should provide the best view for late-night stargazers when it peaks around 2 a.m. on the morning of August 12.
The moon will also be in its waning crescent phase, meaning that there won't be as much pesky moonlight polluting the view of these meteors disintegrating in our atmosphere. In 2011, there was a full moon during the peak of the Perseids, and the light pollution disrupted viewing for many.
The Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus, where they originate. Perseus looks like an inverted "Y" when viewed in the northeast sky.
The Perseids were first observed around 2,000 years ago in the Far East. It is also referred to as the "tears of St. Lawrence," since the date of the Saint's martyrdom is August 10, right around when the meteor shower peaks.
The meteor shower usually begins in mid-July and is the result of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.
Another interesting fact: if you see a bright star-like object before the moon rises, you are viewing Juptier. Another bright object should rise beneath the moon, and that will be Venus. If you're lucky, you might even see a band of starlight stretching to the western horizon, you're looking at the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Two planets, a galaxy, and a meteor shower on one night? No wonder all kinds of stargazers are excited.
Watch a time-lapse video of the Perseid meteor shower from 2011:
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
