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THE Perseid meteor shower is set to grace skies tonight, in one of the most “dramatic” displays of the year, according to experts.
At its peak, between 11 and 13 of August, amateur astronomers will be able to spot up to 100 shooting stars per hour.
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The annual meteor shower is the debris left behind Comet Swift-Tuttle, which comes around every 20 to 200 years, and last seen in 1992 (and in 1862, 1737 respectively).
The average speed for a Perseid meteor is around 36-miles-per-second, which will decorate the sky with fast, bright meteor trains.
Perseid (Per-see-id) is “one of the most dramatic things to see in the night sky between July and August,” according to the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
While the shower will peak this weekend, it will be active between 17 July and 24 August.
What is a meteor shower?
Here’s what you need to know…
- During a meteor shower, fireballs appear to streak across the sky
- This happens because pieces of debris are rapidly burning up as they eneter Earth’s atmosphere
- That debris is often left behind by a collision between two space objects, like a planet or comet
- The Orionids shower is debris from Halley’s Comet, a huge chunk of ice orbiting the Sun
- Many meteor showers are repeated
- They occur at a height of around 62 miles
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How to watch
The best time to catch a glimpse of the display will be between midnight and 5:30am – when the sky is darkest.
It might be harder to spot them during the longer summer nights.
Here are four tips to give yourself the best chance of seeing them:
Avoid light pollution
Stargazers should head to a location well away the city lights, the glow of a town, and even that of street lamps.
“This could mean heading out to the countryside, a nearby park or even do something as simple as turning your back to street lamps if you are not able to go anywhere,” the Royal Greenwich Observatory advises.
Put the phone away
You should give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the dark so you can see the fainter meteors.
This means you need to put that phone screen down.
Meteors can appear in any part of the sky so the more sky you can see the better
Royal Greenwich Observatory
Unobstructed view
Make sure that your star gazing spot has an unobstructed view of the horizon and above.
Away from treelines or cityscapes is best.
“Meteors can appear in any part of the sky so the more sky you can see the better,” the Observatory adds.
Choose binoculars wisely
Binoculars might not always be needed – or helpful.
They can limit your view of the sky, and in trying to get a more detailed look, you could miss shooting stars out of frame.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing)
