The northern hemisphere’s finest display of “shooting stars” of the year—the Perseid meteor shower—peaks this weekend, with Saturday night and Sunday morning being the best time to view, according to NASA.
Here’s when to see the Perseids from every U.S. state.
As well as the moon being a slim crescent—meaning darker skies this year compared to 2022—the weaker Delta Aquariid and Kappa Cygnid meteor showers will also be active as the Perseids peak.
Besides, the Perseids deliver more bright meteors (those that outshine any star) than any other annual meteor shower.
“If you are going to try and observe just one meteor shower this year, make sure it’s the Perseids,” said Physics professor Don Pollacco at the University of Warwick, in an email.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Perseids in 2023—with lots of expert advice.
When to See the Perseids
“The Perseid meteor shower is one of the richest and this year it occurs close to new moon on the evening of August 12,” said Pollacco. “With the moon not visible, and with outside temperatures comfy this time of year, it’s one of the best opportunities to see this spectacular shower.”
The shower is best seen on the morning of August 13 a few hours before sunrise, said Pollacco.
The American Meteor Society states that the exact peak is at 04:00 Universal Time (UTC/GMT) on August 13. Rates will fall by about 50% on the nights on either side.
The best advice is to be outside when it’s properly dark—so about two hours after sunset through two hours before sunrise (roughly 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.).
How Many ‘Shooting Stars’ You Will See
It depends on where you are. “Typically, the Perseids produce more than 100 meteors per hour which includes many bright, electric blue coloured, meteors,” said Pollacco. However, that’s a theoretical maximum—the so-called Zenithal Hourly rate (ZHR)—that presumes an all-sky view and incredible concentration! According to the American Meteor Society, the Perseids produce 50-75 “shooting stars” per hour at their peak.
“People in the U.S. can reasonably expect to see around 40 Perseids in the hour just before dawn on the peak nights. That’s about one every couple of minutes, which is not bad,” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “However, we are assuming you are out in the country, well away from cities and suburbs.”
In a light-polluted city expect to see about 10 per hour, according to NASA. The best plan is to travel to country skies using a light pollution map.
How Best to See Shooting Stars
“Set up outside maybe around 11 p.m. or later, with a reclining chair,” said Pollacco, who advises looking eastward, but not directly at the constellation of Perseus—where the Perseids appear to emanate from. The time applies to anywhere in the northern hemisphere—it’s about being firmly on the night-side of Earth.
“You should see maybe a meteor every few minutes and if you could track their paths back they would appear to all originate from Perseus,” said Pollacco, adding: “One interesting observation is seeing a meteor at the shower radiant. This is coming straight towards you!”
However, look north or east and you’ll likely see longer trains behind Perseids—some of which can be bright “fireballs.” Look southwest—opposite Perseus—and you may see “shooting stars” traveling away from you.
Shooting Stars Explained
Meteors are fragments of dust—no bigger than a grain of sand—that were ejected by comets. In the case of the Perseids, it’s comet Swift-Tuttle, which has a nucleus 16 miles wide and orbits the sun every 133 years.
Grains of dust shed by comets remain traveling in the orbital path of the comet. “If the Earth passes through this path then the dust fragments fall into the Earth’s atmosphere usually moving with great speed,” said Pollacco. “The streak we see in the sky is the vaporisation of the fragment to its high speed and friction with the atmosphere.” Perseids strike the top of Earth’s atmosphere about 80 miles (130 kilometers) up at about 37 miles per second, super-heating air around them and making them glow.
The Perseids run from July 14 through September 1 in 2023.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Read the full article here
