My Favorite Meteor Shower

Thursday, July 12th, 2007 at 03:06 PM by Dave

My favorite meteor shower is coming up. On the evening of August 12 through the morning of August 13, the Perseid Meteor Shower will occur. This meteor shower is due to the remnants of Comet Swift-Tuttle. As this comet went around the Sun, it melted, leaving a debris field of sand-sized particles. When the Earth enters this debris field we get the flurry of meteors which appear to come from the constellation Perseus.

Predictions of this shower indicate that around 2 am on Monday morning (August 13) the meteor rate will be around dozens per hour. Just before sunrise the number is expected to be over one every minute.

The best place to view this shower is out in the country away from any city lights. Look towards the North East to find the constellation Perseus after midnight and near the Eastern sky near sunrise.

I hope you will circle this date on your calendar, take a nap on the afternoon of the 12th, and then bring your lawn chair outside that night to enjoy a beautiful display.

Clear skies to you all!

Posted in Astronomy News

One Response to “My Favorite Meteor Shower”

  1. A Ler…-- Rastos de Luz wrote on 08/6/07 at 12:38 pm :

    [...] My Favourite Meteor Shower no SCSU Astronomy [...]

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