NASA said that the meteor shower results from pieces of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which orbits the sun every 133 years.
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But this year is set to be particularly spectacular, as NASA is predicting that a rare perseid meteor outburst could happen, which means you could see around 200 meteors an hour.
For individuals and families looking for a reason to get out of town and get into nature, the Perseid Meteor Shower might be just the ticket.
The Perseids begin as small specks of dust that rapidly hit Earth’s atmosphere, vaporizing from friction with the air and leaving behind the streaks of light we call meteors. The Perseids are dust bits from Comet Swift-Tuttle and are famous for creating bright fireballs and elevated meteor activity for almost two weeks in mid-August.
That’s due to Jupiter’s gravity pulling the Perseids closer to it, NASA says. It’s expected to be one of the best potential meteor viewing opportunities this year. Experts at NASA and elsewhere agree that three or more streams are on a collision course with Earth. Now that’s fast! These meteors pose no threat to Earth as many of them burn up more than 50 miles above the surface. The best way to see the Perseids is usually between 11 p.m. and midnight and then again at dawn.
Telescopes and other equipment are not needed for the meteor shower, however once outside it may take up to 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust properly to the darkness. Meteors will appear all over the sky, so it’s best to lie down and look up high – taking in as much sky as possible.
This year it will peak on Thursday night (August 11) and into Friday morning (August 12).
Those tiny pieces – even bits of dust – blaze up as they pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, moving at staggering 132,000 miles per hour. Peak temperatures can reach anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit as they speed across the sky.
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The Perseids pose no danger to Earth.
