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Every August, just when many people go on holiday in the land of dark skies, the most famous Meteor shower makes its appearance: The Perseids.
This year, the Perseid meteor shower should peak during the late night hours Sunday night into early Monday morning (August 11-12), when there is almost no moon, making the sky late in the nice and dark night for a shooting star. audience and counters. The first quarter moon sets around 11:20 pm local daylight time, leaving the sky nicely dark afterwards. Some Perseids are visible in the evening, but the shower is always best from about 11 pm or midnight to daylight.
Or, to put it another way, expect to see a greater number of meteors during the hours before dawn as this is when your side of the Earth turns to face the incoming meteors more directly.
If you want more advice on how to photograph meteor showers like the Perseids, check out our guide on how to photograph meteors and meteor showers and if you need imaging equipment, consider the best cameras us for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Where to look
During those hours after midnight the radiant point of the shower (the point from which it appears to originate), located between the constellation Perseus and the ‘W’ of Cassiopeia, will be rising higher in the north-east of gradually — so meteors should flash across each part. of the sky at a rate of about one every minute or two (as seen by a single observer).
That, however, is the prediction if your sky is good and dark. But even if you live under moderate light pollution, as most of us unfortunately do, you can at least catch the brightest Perseids. They are often described in astronomy magazines as “many bright and split meteors” that leave continuous trains in their wake.
Earth should go through the thickest part of this “old faithful” Meteor showers were for several hours centered around 1400 UTC on August 12, which is 10 am on that date Eastern Daylight Time, which is daytime across all of North America. So, for meteor watchers here, the night before and maybe even after could be just as good. Fortunately, the Perseids remain active – about a quarter of their peak strength – for several days before and a day or two after their peak, and one can sometimes be seen almost any time in August.
Perseid is one whose path, if traced backwards across the sky, crosses a spot between the constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia. Other “random” meteors that travel in random directions occur once every 5 or 10 minutes. Two much weaker showers are also active at this time of year, the Delta Aquarids and Kappa Cygnids.
Lay back, relax, and wait
You don’t need any experience to watch the Perseids. Just find a spot with a wide view of the sky and no late night lights nearby. Wrap up warm (it can get cold sometimes even on summer nights), lay back on a ground pad or sleeping bag or better yet, on a reclining lawn chair, and watch the stars. Also cover exposed parts of your body with mosquito repellent so you don’t get bit.
Be patient, and give your eyes enough time to dark adapt. The direction to watch is not necessarily towards Perseus, but wherever your sky is darkest, probably straight up.
The Perseids are the ionization trails made by small pieces of debris from comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle, hurtling into Earth’s upper atmosphere at 37 miles (60 km) per second. The Perseids were particularly dramatic in the early to mid-1990s in the year of Swift-Tuttle’s most recent return (in December 1992). Since then, however, they have returned to normal. The comet is not due back until August in the year 2126.
Scary events
But surprises can always happen.
On the morning of August 14, 2021, the Perseids showed an unexpected meteor shower between 06:00 and 09:00 UT (2 to 5 a.m. EDT). The cause of this outburst is currently unknown but is likely the result of an unknown filament of cometary debris produced by Swift-Tuttle as it passed through the inner solar system hundreds of years ago.
In notice of Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams Circular #5016the maximum hourly peak rate was estimated to be between 130 and 210, plus or minus 20. A great number considering that the rates are usually 50% lower each night before after the maximum rate but these rates two or three times more than was seen during the expected maximum on the night of August 12-13, 2021.
Four years from now Perseid “could” give a truly spectacular display, as some meteor experts predict that the Earth will interact with a thick knot or lump of meteoric material shed by comet Swift-Tuttle during the 15th century, which could, perhaps, be a short-lived display of hundreds of meteors per hour.
Prophecy being violated
Sometimes, even in years considered favorable for Perseid viewing, sky watchers report seeing only half or a third as many meteors as predicted – and others report up to twice as many! The Perseid particle stream, spread out along its orbit around the sun, has been shown to have a complex filamentary structure with rich gaps and spots.
Complicating matters is that some people’s eyes seem to be better suited to meteor work than others.
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Regardless of your local viewing circumstances, every year the appearance of the Perseids gives many people a reason to get out and look up at the night sky. Even if you only see a handful of “shooting stars”, it only takes seeing an extremely bright meteor to make the viewing experience worthwhile.
A final incentive is to note that next year the moon will be in its acute phase in just a few days and will flood the sky with bright light, outshining all but the brightest Perseid streaks. So, take advantage of the favorable conditions that have been made available to us this year.
We wish everyone the best of luck and a clear sky!
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Free natural history magazine,the The Farmers’ Almanac and other publications.
