“The Perseids feature fast and bright meteors that frequently leave trains, and in 2015 there will be no moonlight to upstage the shower”.
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If your knowledge of the night sky is decent, you’d do well to locate the radiant point of the meteor shower, which aligns with the constellation Perseus.
He said: “Although it is unfortunately still daylight at that time in the UK and Ireland, it is just possible that enhanced rates may persist for a few hours around this time and so be observable soon after dark”. On the same date each year Earth passes through this debris which is then accelerated to great speed toward Earth.
The meteor shower will peak tonight and Thursday nights.
The best meteor shower of the year will light up the night skies this week, and a dimmer moon means it will be more visible than in recent years.
The bits and pieces from Comet Swift-Tuttle slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 130,000 miles per hour, lighting up the nighttime with fast-moving Perseid meteors.
Those who want to learn more about astronomy may want to check out “In the Beginning…A Planetarium Show” at Towson University at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 21.
Expert stargazers recommend you get out of heavily populated areas where city lights compete with the shower. The event will highlight the science behind the Perseids, as well as NASA research related to meteors and comets.
Bring something comfortable to sit or lie down on and try to fill your entire peripheral vision with the night sky. This can take up to 20 minutes and can be disrupted by looking at a bright phone or tablet screen.
Don’t worry about using telescopes or binoculars.
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To see the meteors, all you need to do is to look up in the northeast sky this week.
