The swarm of shooting stars only reaches its peak on the night of August 12 to 13. But, shooting star friends and amateur astronomers will know: the Perseids have long since arrived! Earth has been traversing the Perseid meteor shower since July 17.
Everything is prepared for the spectacle in the night sky this year: unlike last year, the moon is only a small crescent and rises late and night falls again on the weekend. So the only question is: will the weather cooperate?
Very likely: yes. There is currently a high pressure area over Europe and good weather is predicted for the weekend. However, it takes a lot of luck to stay completely cloudless, especially on the night with the most shooting stars. But also on Thursday or Friday there are plenty of shooting stars – and then the weather is perfect.
All about the biggest shooting star shower of the year – and why it’s worth taking a longer look at the sky:
The first shooting stars appear every year from July 17, the last can be seen on August 24. This repeats every year, although the time of the maximum has shifted slightly over time – in the 19th century it was probably 1 to 2 days earlier.
However, most shooting stars can be seen on the night of August 12 to 13, ie from Saturday to Sunday. It is the so-called shooting star night. The best time is the hours after midnight. Under ideal conditions, up to 100 shooting stars can be seen from Earth. But also in the surrounding nights, 10 to 30 Perseids can be seen per hour. From mid-August the current decreases again considerably.
The Perseids should be easier to see this year than last year. The weather should be pretty good: during the day it is nice, in the evening and at night you can expect some clouds and short rain showers. In the lowlands, however, this is less likely than in the Alps.
Last year, the view of the shooting stars was rather cloudy, because the full moon was visible that same night. This year, however, amateur astronomers are luckier: the moon won’t be visible until early Sunday morning, and then only in the form of a crescent moon.
The Perseids are visible all over the northern hemisphere of the Earth. In the Southern Hemisphere, on the other hand, shooting stars are generally difficult to see. And in Switzerland, we’re even lucky: the mid-northern latitudes are the best location to observe the Perseids.
The best way to see the shooting stars is to look northeast. The constellation Perseus, from which the meteor shower seems to originate, can serve as a guide (more on this under point 6). Perseus is near the more famous constellation Cassiopeia.
As with all night sky observations, results are best when the atmospheric path is short, the air is dry and there is little light pollution. A dark place far away from the cities flooded with artificial light therefore offers the best observation opportunities – preferably in the mountains.
Under good conditions, about 60 meteors per hour should be visible at the Perseid maximum – ie about one shooting star per minute. In urban areas, light pollution reduces this fall rate to 20-40 per hour, while under a mountain sky it can be as high as 80-120.
The Perseids are the busiest swarm of shooting stars of the year. Contrary to what the term shooting star suggests, the Perseids are not stars that fall from the sky. Rather, they are dust particles that separated from the nucleus of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and then gradually scattered in a cloud along that body’s orbit. 109P/Swift-Tuttle returns about every 133 years, but Earth traverses its dust trail at about the same time each year.
The comet’s dust particles – most of which are no larger than a grain of sand – then enter the Earth’s atmosphere as so-called meteoroids at a tremendous speed of almost 60 kilometers per second (that’s an incredible 216,000 km/h) and take them to an altitude from 80 to 100 kilometers the sky lights up. They do this by creating a plasma behind them – separating electrons from atoms in the gas in the Earth’s atmosphere. As they then penetrate deeper into the atmosphere, they burn up – but this process is barely noticeable to the naked eye.
Larger chunks are rare, they are more common in the dust cloud (i.e. maximum). Upon entering the atmosphere, they shine as brightly as bright stars and planets. Even brighter – and rarer – are the so-called fireballs, which often leave a colorful afterglow trail behind them.
The Perseids can be photographed, but you’re unlikely to get decent results with a smartphone or tablet. A wide-angle lens with an open aperture and slow shutter speed is best – with the flash off, of course. The focus should be set to «infinity». The camera must then be mounted on a tripod, if necessary you can also put it on the floor (preferably on a surface so as not to scratch the screen).
Shooting star showers take their name from the constellation in which they appear to be located. The point in the night sky from which a meteor shower appears to begin is called the radiant. The radiant for the Perseids is in the constellation Perseus.
In reality, only the perspective plays tricks on us: the matter particles form a dust trail that is crossed by the earth in its orbit. The effect is similar to driving during a snow storm: all the snowflakes seem to come from a common starting point.
Incidentally, the August meteors are popularly known as “Laurentius’ tears” or “Tears of Laurentius”. This name commemorates Saint Laurentius, who was martyred on August 10, 258 on a red-hot grate under the reign of the Roman Emperor Valerian. Since then, there would have been fiery tears that day.
Shooting stars are usually small particles, often even smaller than a grain of sand. However, because they hit the earth’s atmosphere at an extremely high speed of up to 70 kilometers per second (!), the air is ionized (electrically charged) when burned. The glow that is created is called a meteor. In that sense, that’s the proper alternate name for the shooting star. This is not to be confused with the meteoroid – often called “meteor” – the particle that causes the shooting star.
Last but not least, there are the meteorites: that’s what the parts (usually larger “particles”) are called that hit the earth from the atmosphere, but do not burn up completely when they hit the earth, but actually land on the earth.
(With material from news agency sda) (ear)
Source: Blick
I am Ross William, a passionate and experienced news writer with more than four years of experience in the writing industry. I have been working as an author for 24 Instant News Reporters covering the Trending section. With a keen eye for detail, I am able to find stories that capture people’s interest and help them stay informed.
