Posted on August 9th, 2010
Sky watchers will enjoy a spectacular natural firework show this week thanks to perfect conditions for the year’s finest meteor shower. The Earth has begun to plough through a river of debris dumped by an ancient comet which is producing a display of shooting stars called the Perseids.
The shower is one of the most reliable for astronomers in the northern hemisphere but 2010 is especially good because New Moon this week means there will be no overpowering moonlight to spoil the show.
Watchers with clear skies can look forward to viewing many of the bright meteor streaks as they burn up in the upper atmosphere. They are called the Perseids because they appear to stream in from the direction of the constellation of Perseus. However, they can appear in any part of the sky.
The meteor shower peaks between Wednesday and Saturday (August 11-14) and a single observer in perfect conditions might see up to 100 meteors an hour on Thursday night. There is no danger as the meteors are only the size of grains of sand and are completely vaporized.
The Earth has already entered the outer regions of the stream of meteoroids, left by a comet called Swift-Tuttle, and observers are already reporting sightings on Twitter with current rates at around 20 an hour. We have produced a special two-part Skymania guide to observing meteors to help you see them.
The radiant from which the meteors appear to stream is low in the sky when darkness falls but climbs steadily in the sky through the night and highest rates of all are likely to be seen in the early hours of Friday morning. (Because Perseus is a far northern constellation, fewer meteors are seen in the southern hemisphere).
Robin Scagell, vice-president of the UK’s Society for Popular Astronomy, said yesterday: “Warm summer nights make the Perseids great fun to watch out for. Make yourself comfortable in a deckchair under a clear sky, away from the streetlights, and you should soon see a few streaking across the sky.”
One British fan, Adrian West, is so keen to encourage people to observe the meteors’ beautiful trails that he has produced an entertaining Hollywood-style trailer, now on YouTube, for the Perseids as part of a Twitter #meteorwatch campaign. There is a Meteorwatch website too. (Note: This got so busy on the night of maximum that it crashed under the demand!) Go to our Skymania meteor watching guide.
By the way, don’t be surprised if you occasionally see a starlike point moving more slowly against the heavens while you are carrying out your vigil. It is likely to be one of the many satellites that now orbit the Earth. They can be distinguished from aircraft because they are silent and tend to show a single steady white glow whereas planes have coloured flashing lights. You may also notice a very bright object low in the east in the late evening and rising higher as the night progresses – that is the giant planet Jupiter.
• Discover space for yourself and do fun science with a telescope. Here is Skymania’s advice on how to choose a telescope. We also have a guide to the different types of telescope available. Check out our monthly sky guide too!
