MCI always wants to shoot for the stars, so we are really excited this weekend as we will be looking for something very special in the night sky. The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend.
This is an annual event and the highlight of many an amateur astronomer’s calendar. The phenomenon is caused by the Earth hitting into the debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet. As the comet travels close to the Sun, it heats up and pieces of the comet break off. This debris, consisting of meteors, collides with our planet at speeds ranging from about 7 to 45 miles per second. As the air around the meteors are compressed, it heats up to thousands of degrees Celsius. The hot compressed air is what creates the meteors’ beautiful tails. The larger meteors can explode as fireballs, which can create quite a show in the night sky. The Perseid meteor shower got its name because the shower appears from the direction of the Perseus constellation.
The best way to see a meteor shower is to seek out a place with a clear sky and the least light pollution. This generally means somewhere out in the country where there is no street lighting and the sky is at its darkest. If you can’t get into the country, try going to a park and keep the street lighting behind your line of sight. The sky is generally at its darkest between midnight and 5am, although you may be able to catch sight of some meteors anytime after sunset. Once you have found your perfect spot and have a clear sky, it can take 15 minutes to let your eyes get accustomed to the night sky, so looking at mobile phone screens can affect how you can see the phenomenon. The Moon can also produce light pollution, so if you can wait until the Moon is below the horizon on in crescent phase, you will be able to see the fainter meteors, too.
We hope you get a good view of the spectacle this weekend!