One of the best and most anticipated meteor showers of the year are the Perseids, which take place from mid-July to late August. But peak viewing — where you’ll have the chance to see the most meteors — falls on the night of Aug. 12-13 this year, according to the International Meteor Organization. That’s when Earth moves through the thickest part of the debris left by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, with tiny bits of particles burning through our atmosphere at 59 km/s. Try this interactive map that shows how Earth passes through the meteor shower: The Swift-Tuttle, first discovered independently in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, makes one orbit around the sun every 133 years. The last time it was in our solar system was in 1992. However, from all those trips around the sun, it has left behind a lot of debris. Some of this debris can be larger than normal grain-like particles and can create beautiful bolides or bright fireballs that light up the sky.
How to see meteors
While the Perseids rarely disappoint, there’s one thing to deal with this year that can get in the way of your viewing pleasure: the full moon. With the moon lighting up the sky, this means that only the brightest meteors will be visible. Fortunately, many Perseids tend to be pretty bright anyway. The Perseids are named after the constellation – Perseus. This is the point in the sky from which they appear to be seen, called the radiant. This map shows the radiance of the Perseids, named after the nearby constellation Perseus. The radiant is the point in the sky from which meteors are seen. (American Meteor Society) While some people like to look in the direction of the constellation, which rises in the northeast, it limits the number of meteors that can be seen since they will have shorter tails. To see longer meteors (ie, with long tails), you don’t need to look directly up, but at a greater angle. And the best thing about meteor showers is that you don’t need a telescope or binoculars, just your eyes. You can also watch out for “ground shepherds”, meteorites that climb through the Earth’s atmosphere and, as a result, leave a long trail behind them. These are best seen early at night when the sky is dark and radiation low in the east. They will move roughly from north to south. To increase your chances of catching some bright meteors, you could go outside before the peak night of August 12 or even in the days after when the moon will not be completely full. Try to keep the moon behind you when looking at the stars to block out its glare. Many more pic.twitter.com/SAmtS7RL7k —@UKMeteorNetwork
Helpful hints
Another hot tip is to try lying down on a blanket or even a beach chair, otherwise your neck will get tired and sore from trying to look up. Also, put down those phones, as your eyes will need to adjust to the dark, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. And remember, the more stars you can see, the more faint meteors you’ll catch, so try to get to as dark a location as you can, away from city lights. Patience is your friend, so try not to give up if you haven’t seen any meteors within a few minutes. Under ideal conditions, the Perseids can produce more than 100 meteors per hour, but don’t expect to see that many. This time of year, you can also catch some planets: Jupiter will be low in the east and hard to miss, and Saturn will be in the southeast. Users can also use free apps like StarWalk or SkyView (they have a night mode that shows up in red to preserve your night vision) that let you hold your phone up to the sky to identify constellations, planets and but. There’s always something to look at in the night sky, even if the meteors aren’t putting on a show.
