DUANE SHERRILLEditor

There will be a fire in the night sky for the next month as the Perseids Meteor Shower returns for a season, with the onset beginning this week and highlighting in early August.

The predicted peak of the show will be August 12 with the annual summer show to end shortly thereafter. During its peak, viewers could see as many as 100 meteors per hour around Aug. 12-13. The night shows will actually run July 14 to Sept. 1. Experts point out that a full moon around the peak in August could hinder meteor spotting therefore viewers may want to take advantage of a window running from July 18-28 when there is less moonlight. The new moon will fall on July 24 so there will be no competition between the Moon and the light show.

The Perseid meteor shower is most easily seen from the Northern Hemisphere, but is also visible in the mid-southern latitudes. The nocturnal phenomenon can be seen from anywhere in the U.S., however, meteor shower is much easier to see where there is less light pollution.

No telescopes or binoculars are needed to view the light show but experts recommend allowing your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark. Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into the hours before dawn. To best view the Perseid meteor shower, look towards the northeast, roughly in the direction of the Perseus constellation, after midnight. If you can find the “W” shape of the Cassiopeia constellation, Perseus will be nearby in the northeastern sky. While the meteors will appear all across the sky, the Perseus constellation is where they seem to originate from, or “radiate”.

The meteor shower radiates from the Perseus constellation, which follows the Cassiopeia constellation across the night sky. If viewers can find Perseus, they will see where the meteors will streak across the sky during the celestial event’s peak.

The Perseids meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, a comet that is also the largest known object to repeatedly pass by Earth. The comet debris moves at around 133,200 mph in space and is typically the size of a grain of sand. The fragments become visible when they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking through the sky. Although the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it rarely hits the ground. Meteors that hit the ground intact are called meteorites. But few meteors in annual showers become meteorites. This is because of the flimsy nature of cometary debris. Comets are made of ices. Most meteorites are the remains of rocky or metallic asteroids.

The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually in August, but in 2028, the shower is expected to evolve into a storm that will be even more spectacular than usual. Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into the wee hours before dawn. The shower is often best just before dawn.