As the Two-Way has reported, “The Perseids, the dusty debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle, whisk through our upper atmosphere every August”.
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The display is a big deal this year because the shower is happening at the same time as a new moon for the first time since 2007, creating a darkened sky. But they hit Earth’s atmosphere at such a high speed – 140,000 miles per hour, according to NASA – that they disintegrate with a brilliant flash of light.
On a dark, moonless night, you can often see 50 or more meteors per hour from northerly latitudes, and from southerly latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps about one-third that many meteors. The event is caused by the Earth passing through a trail of comet dust as the planet spins in space.
Because of a new moon, there won’t be any moonlight to “mess with the show”.
The Perseids aren’t the only sights to see tonight during the outdoor show.
“If you are outside looking at the sky you should see at least several dozen if not more per hour“, said David Targen, Dir. of Brown University’s Ladd Observatory in Providence.
A meteor streaks across the sky near an American flag early Wednesday, August 12, 2015, in Springville, Ala. The Perseid shower was named after the constellation Perseus, its radiant.
The Perseids come from a point in front of the constellation Perseus which is in the north-eastern part of the sky, however the meteors can be seen from any point in the sky.
If all else fails, NASA TV and NASA’s UStream channel will host a live show with meteor science experts from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service is calling for partly cloudy skies and chances of showers and thunderstorms Thursday night and early Friday morning.
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And don’t get frustrated if you don’t see a meteor right away.
