If you have tenting plans this weekend , you ’re in luck . The annual Perseid meteor shower will be fall August 10–13 , and it ’s have a bun in the oven to be the good and bright one in years , astrophysicist Ethan Siegel save forForbes .
The Perseid meteor shower — named after the Perseus constellation , where the meteors originate — occurs every August when the Earth passes through a path of debris left by the Swift - Tuttle comet . This comet orb the Sun once every 133 years , and in doing so , the vivid heat and tidal personnel cause parts of the comet to break off , creating a floating field of debris . The dust and particles forget behind compose a comet’stwo tails : the ion tail and the debris tail .
According to Siegel , a few factors learn how spectacular a meteoroid shower will be , include light pollution conditions , how close Earth scram to the nitty-gritty of the dust stream , the comparative speed of the debris to Earth , and the flow ’s denseness . Plus , the Modern moon phase angle on August 11 guarantee a darker sky . For this reason , Saturday dark should be the best clip to head outdoors and count up .
" The Moon is very favorable for the Perseids this year , and that ’ll make the Perseids belike the best shower of 2018 for people who want to go out and consider it , ” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke tellsSpace.com .
You ’ll probably be able to see 60 to 70 meteors per time of day at its peak . The most important consideration is to head somewhere with dark skies and little light-colored pollution . For counseling , you could check out thisonline mapof artificial sky brightness . Once you make it at your favorite viewing spot , wait for the sky to get wholly dark — about 2 to 3 hours after sunset .
Swift - Tuttle , the same comet that gives us these dazzling meteoroid show , might also collide with Earth and wipe out living as we get it on it — but not for another 2460 years , at the very least . So until then , sit back and revel the cosmic show .
[ h / tForbes ]
