The Perseid meteor shower, an annual celestial event, is all set to return on Wednesday night. First spotted by American space agency Nasa’s meteor-tracking cameras on July 26, the Perseids are predicted to reach their peak before dawn on August 12, giving the best chance to witness one of the biggest meteor showers of the year.
It is also believed that this year’s conditions are as near to perfect as can be. The waxing crescent Moon sets around 10 pm local time, meaning dark, Moonless skies until dawn.
Astronomy lovers can catch the best glimpses of meteors soon after evening twilight ends. The Perseid meteor shower will be visible in the northern hemisphere and down to the mid-southern latitudes, according to earthsky.org.
Meteors are caused by tiny, sandgrain- to pea-size bits of dusty debris striking the top of Earth’s atmosphere roughly 130 km up. The debris was deposited the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle. Every year, the Earth passes through this region – it begins around July 17 and continues till August 24.
In between this period, when the Earth passes through the densest part of the tenuous “river of rubble” (around August 12), it triggers the peak of meteor shower.
Faint Perseids appear as tiny, quick streaks. But experts say that occasional brighter ones might sail across the sky for several seconds and leave a brief train of glowing smoke.
Any light pollution or cloudiness will cut down the number of meteors visible. But the brightest ones shine right through light pollution. An analysis done by Nasa of all-sky images taken from 2008 to 2013 shows that the Perseids deliver more bright meteors than any other annual meteor shower. However, if there are clouds in a region, the people there won’t be able to enjoy the meteor shower in its full glory.
Those who are interested in watching the meteor shower, need to find the darkest possible location away from city lights.
Upto 60 meteors per hour are expected to be visible during the peak of the shower, according to EarthSky.